Hormonal
Visceral fat mass exhibits the strongest positive correlation with insulin resistance (measured by HOMA-IR) among all adipose tissue depots and obesity indices.
If you are concerned about insulin resistance, looking at your weight (BMI) alone is not enough. Visceral fat (belly fat) is the strongest predictor of metabolic risk. Even if your BMI is normal, high visceral fat can lead to insulin resistance. Prioritize measuring waist circumference or assessing body composition over BMI alone for metabolic health assessment.
This study showed a positive correlation between insulin resistance and most adipose tissue depots/obesity indices, and the strongest association is for visceral fat mass.
Why this rating
Meta-analysis of 40 observational studies with large sample sizes, though observational design limits causal inference.
Source
Associations of Different Adipose Tissue Depots with Insulin Resistance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies
Mingzhi Zhang et al. · Scientific Reports · 2015
DOI 10.1038/srep18495
More from this paper
- Lower extremity (leg) fat mass has no significant correlation with insulin resistance, distinguishing it from trunk/visceral fat depots.Good
- BMI and waist circumference are practical, economically viable predictors of insulin resistance, despite visceral fat being the strongest biological predictor.Moderate
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