Visceral fat, also known as belly fat, is the fat that surrounds your organs in your abdominal cavity. An excess of this fat increases your risk for chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Knowing your visceral fat levels can help assess your health risks and motivate lifestyle changes to reduce this dangerous fat. Here are some ways to tell if you have too much visceral fat.
What is visceral fat?
Visceral fat is located deep inside your abdominal cavity, surrounding organs like your liver, pancreas, and intestines. It lies beneath your subcutaneous fat, the fat you can pinch with your fingers. Visceral fat is metabolically active – it releases hormones and cytokines that can negatively impact your health. Too much visceral fat increases inflammation and insulin resistance, raising your risk for chronic diseases.
Measuring your waist circumference
A simple way to estimate your levels of visceral fat is by measuring your waist circumference. This measurement gives an indication of abdominal obesity, which correlates strongly with visceral fat. Guidelines for healthy waist circumferences are:
- Women: Less than 35 inches (88 cm)
- Men: Less than 40 inches (102 cm)
A waist circumference higher than these guidelines indicates an unhealthy level of visceral fat.
Calculating your waist-to-hip ratio
Another simple method is calculating your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) by dividing your waist circumference by your hip circumference. Research suggests the following thresholds for excess visceral fat:
- Women: 0.85 or higher
- Men: 0.90 or higher
A higher WHR indicates more visceral and abdominal fat, even if your weight is normal.
Getting an MRI or CT scan
Medical imaging tests like MRI and CT scans can accurately measure the amount of visceral fat in your abdomen. However, they are expensive and not routinely performed. Imaging is sometimes done in research studies or before bariatric surgery. Results can quantify visceral fat in cm2 or as a volume (ml).
Using calipers to measure fat layer thickness
Skinfold calipers can be used to pinch the fat layer on specific areas of the body. The thickness of fat around the abdomen and other sites estimates total body fat and visceral fat. This method requires training and may not be widely available.
Getting a DXA scan
A DXA scan (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) is an imaging test that measures body composition, including fat, muscle, and bone density. It can estimate visceral fat amount along with total body fat percentage. A DXA scan involves very low levels of radiation exposure.
Risks of Excess Visceral Fat
Too much visceral fat, generally more than 10-13% in women and 2-5% in men, increases the risks of:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Sleep apnea
- Colorectal cancer
- Dementia
Reducing elevated visceral fat should be a priority for your health. Even a 5-10% loss of body weight can decrease visceral fat and lower disease risks.
Conclusion
Measuring your waist circumference or WHR are simple initial ways to estimate visceral fat. Imaging tests like MRI and DXA scans give the most accurate measurements. Work on lifestyle changes like diet and exercise to reduce any excess visceral fat and the health risks that come with it.