Research
Energy balance
Lifestyle interventions, specifically exercise and caloric restriction, reduce visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and ectopic fat, often independently of total body weight loss.
Aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. This amount is sufficient to reduce dangerous visceral fat. You don't need to do more than this for VAT reduction, and you don't need to lose weight on the scale to see benefits.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Well-controlled studies have demonstrated that exercise can reduce VAT even in the absence of weight loss.
Why this rating
Based on randomized studies and meta-analyses.
Source
Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
Tiffany M. Powell‐Wiley et al. · Circulation · 2021
DOI 10.1161/cir.0000000000000973
clinical_guidelineCited 3,438×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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