Research
Hormonal
Excess visceral fat and upper body subcutaneous fat impair insulin-mediated suppression of free fatty acid (FFA) release, leading to elevated systemic FFA levels that drive hepatic VLDL-triglyceride overproduction and low HDL cholesterol, thereby increasing cardiovascular disease risk.
Focus on reducing visceral fat through lifestyle changes, as this specific fat depot drives harmful metabolic processes like high triglycerides and low HDL. Total weight loss is beneficial, but targeting visceral fat accumulation is key to improving metabolic health and reducing cardiovascular risk.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
Excess visceral fat is strongly associated with impaired suppression of FFA release in response to insulin, as well as with hypertriglyceridemia and low concentrations of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. High FFA concentrations can induce insulin resistance in muscle and liver.
Why this rating
The paper is a comprehensive review citing numerous primary studies and establishing strong consensus on the physiological mechanisms.
Source
Fat Depots, Free Fatty Acids, and Dyslipidemia
Jon O. Ebbert et al. · Nutrients · 2013
DOI 10.3390/nu5020498
narrative_reviewCited 349×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Upper body subcutaneous fat is the primary source of excess free fatty acid (FFA) release in upper body obesity, contributing more to systemic FFA levels and metabolic risk than visceral fat itself.Strong
- Elevated free fatty acid (FFA) delivery to the liver from visceral and upper body subcutaneous fat depots stimulates hepatic VLDL-triglyceride production, leading to hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL cholesterol, which are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease.Strong
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