Visceral fat is the fat that surrounds our internal organs, such as the liver, pancreas and intestines — the “hidden fat”.
A new study combined data from over 21,000 participants in the UK Biobank with AI-driven modelling to compare participants’ “heart age” with their actual age. The result?
- Visceral fat — the fat deep inside the abdomen, around the organs — was one of the strongest indicators of accelerated heart ageing, regardless of BMI.
- Not only that: fat in the liver and within muscles (muscle fat infiltration) also negatively affected the heart’s biological age.
- Further, the researchers emphasise that BMI is insufficient as a risk assessment tool — it’s the location of the fat, not necessarily the amount, that determines health risk — especially when it comes to cardiac ageing.
At our screening clinic we use advanced imaging diagnostics that go beyond BMI — to pick up risks long before symptoms manifest. It’s about understanding the body in more detail — and being able to act preventively with both lifestyle changes and treatments where they make a real difference.
