Research
Macro partitioning
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is strongly associated with insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, independent of subcutaneous fat and BMI, due to its pro-inflammatory secretory profile.
Where you store fat matters more than how much you weigh. Reducing visceral fat through diet and exercise is critical for lowering the risk of diabetes and heart disease, even if your overall weight doesn't change drastically.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is associated strongly with insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension (87, 214, 598, 787), independent of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and overall BMI.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple human studies and epidemiological data cited in the review.
Source
Mechanistic Links Between Obesity, Diabetes, and Blood Pressure: Role of Perivascular Adipose Tissue
Sophie N. Saxton et al. · Physiological Reviews · 2019
DOI 10.1152/physrev.00034.2018
narrative_reviewCited 266×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Adiponectin, secreted by healthy PVAT, acts as a vasodilator by activating AdipoR1 receptors, stimulating AMPK and eNOS to produce nitric oxide, thereby lowering blood pressure and improving insulin sensitivity.Strong
- Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) dysfunction, characterized by reduced adiponectin secretion and increased pro-inflammatory cytokines, directly contributes to hypertension and insulin resistance by losing its anti-contractile effect on blood vessels.Good
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