Hormonal
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is the primary driver of cardiometabolic complications (hypertension, T2DM, dyslipidemia) through endocrine dysfunction, RAAS activation, and inflammation, rather than total body weight alone.
Stop relying on BMI to assess your health risk. Focus on reducing visceral fat through lifestyle changes, as this specific fat type drives heart disease and diabetes. Use waist-to-height ratio as a better metric than weight alone.
The accumulation of 'visceral' adipose tissue increases with aging, leading to several cardio-metabolic consequences: from increased blood pressure to overt arterial hypertension, from insulin-resistance to overt type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and obstructive sleep apnea.
Why this rating
Narrative review citing multiple observational and pathophysiological studies; strong mechanistic consensus but not a single RCT.
Source
Adipocentric origin of the common cardiometabolic complications of obesity in the young up to the very old: pathophysiology and new therapeutic opportunities
Riccardo Sarzani et al. · Frontiers in Medicine · 2024
DOI 10.3389/fmed.2024.1365183
More from this paper
- GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) and SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2-i) are effective interventions for obesity-related cardiometabolic complications by reducing body weight and addressing pathophysiological derangements.Strong
- Visceral fat accumulation activates the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS) and Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), leading to hypertension and sodium retention, independent of dietary salt intake.Good
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