- Over the last few years, research has shown that having too much visceral fat can be very harmful to a person’s health.
- Past studies have shown that having an unhealthy amount of visceral fat may increase a person’s risk of several health conditions.
- A new study found that improving both diet and exercise levels simultaneously may be more effective in preventing weight gain, particularly of visceral fat.
Over the last few years, research has shown that having excessive visceral fat — the fat surrounding the abdominal area that protects internal organs — can be detrimental to a person’s health.
Past studies show that having an unHealthy amount of visceral fat may increase a person’s risk for several Health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome,
“Abdominal weight gain is a major public Health concern,” Shayan Aryannezhad, MD, MPH, PhD, doctoral graduate of the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, and clinical research fellow at the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom, told Medical News Today.
“Nearly 3 billion people worldwide are living with overweight or obesity. Weight gain usually happens slowly, over many years, and we still have limited evidence on how everyday behaviors can help prevent the build-up of fat in different body compartments over the long term. Fat that builds up deep in the abdomen around internal organs, known as visceral fat, is especially harmful. It raises the risk of cardiometabolic diseases and premature death. Finding effective ways to prevent this type of fat gain is therefore very important.”
— Shayan Aryannezhad, MD, MPH, PhD
Aryannezhad is the first author of a new study published in the journal
For this study, researchers analyzed the Health data of more than 7,000 study participants in the U.K.-based Fenland study.
Study participants were at an average age of about 49 at the start of the Fenland study, which followed participants for an average of 7 years.
Participant follow-up included measuring physical activity energy expenditure for at least 72 hours, a DEXA scan to assess body fat, and an evaluation of participants’ adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
“Most long-term studies look at diet and physical activity separately, but people do not live their lives in isolated behaviors,” Aryannezhad said. “Evidence shows that clearer and more consistent links with health outcomes appear when we assess changes in both behaviors at the same time.”
“This may be because people often make compensatory changes,” he added. “For example, becoming more active may lead someone to eat more, or vice versa. Studying the behaviors together gives a more realistic understanding of how they influence long-term adiposity.”
At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that participants who simultaneously improved their diet and physical activity levels had the highest reduction in body fat, while changing only one of those lifestyle choices was linked to moderate body fat improvements.
Scientists also discovered that after adjusting for body mass index (BMI), the correlation of diet and physical activity changes resulted in significant changes to visceral fat levels, showing that visceral fat was specifically responsive to these Healthy changes.
Researchers reported that participants who improved diet and exercise at the same time increased on average about 1.9 kilograms (kg) less total body fat and 150 grams (g) less visceral fat than those who did not make both lifestyle improvements.
“This is a meaningful difference,” Aryannezhad explained. “Gaining 1.9 kg less total body fat represents about 7% of the average body fat in this population.“
“Previous research shows that around 10% increase in body fat is associated with an 11% higher risk of all-cause mortality. The additional 150 g less visceral fat is also important, as visceral fat is the most harmful type. This is approximately 16% of (the) total visceral fat of this population,” he emphasized.
“Improving both diet quality and physical activity was linked not only with less weight gain, but also with a healthier pattern of body fat distribution,” Aryannezhad continued. “Addressing both behaviors together appears to offer greater benefits than improving either one alone. These health behaviors should be seen as complementary strategies, not competing ones.”
MNT spoke with Mir Ali, MD, a board certified general surgeon, bariatric surgeon, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study.
Ali, who was not involved in the research, commented that he thought this was a good study that showed the benefits of combining exercise and a healthy diet.
“Visceral fat (around the abdomen) has been shown to increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many other conditions,” he explained.
“Any method that can reduce visceral fat is beneficial to the patient,“ said Ali. “More research into defining the optimal diets and exercises to eliminate and maintain visceral fat loss would be helpful.”
MNT also spoke with Seth Kipnis, MD, FACS, FASMBS, director of bariatric and robotic surgery at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey, about this research, who said that this study provides evidence for the advice he gives to his patients every day.
“Often, patients come frustrated, having tried to focus on just diet or just exercise without seeing the results they want, especially around their midsection,” Kipnis, who was not involved in the research, explained. “This study demonstrates that the combination of improving diet quality and increasing physical activity is the most effective strategy.”
“What’s particularly compelling is the use of advanced imaging like DEXA scans to differentiate between types of fat. I frequently explain to patients that the ‘belly fat’ we are most concerned about isn’t the fat you can pinch (subcutaneous fat), but the deeper visceral fat surrounding their organs. This study’s finding that a combined approach is especially effective at reducing this dangerous visceral fat. It is not just about the number on the scale but the overall body composition.”
— Seth Kipnis, MD, FACS, FASMBS
“The finding that individuals who were overweight or inactive at the start of the study saw the greatest benefits is also very encouraging,” Kipnis added. “It provides a hopeful and motivating message for the very patients who often feel the most discouraged.”
