Visceral fat is the fat that surrounds our internal organs, such as the liver, pancreas, and intestines, the so-called “hidden fat.”
A new study published in the European Heart Journal combined data from more than 21,000 participants in the UK Biobank with AI-driven analytical models to compare participants’ “heart age” with their actual chronological age. The result?
• Visceral fat, fat deep inside the abdomen, surrounding the organs, was one of the strongest indicators of accelerated heart ageing, regardless of BMI.
• Not only that: fat in the liver and fat infiltration in muscle were also shown to negatively affect the heart’s biological age.
• The researchers further emphasised that BMI is an inadequate risk assessment tool; it is the location of fat, not the total amount, that determines health risk, particularly when it comes to cardiac ageing.
At Executive Health, we use advanced imaging diagnostics that go beyond BMI to identify risks long before symptoms appear. It’s about understanding the body in greater detail, and being able to act preventively through both lifestyle changes and treatment, where it truly makes a difference.
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