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visceral fat; omental fat; intra-abdominal fat

Function: - endocrine functions [2] Structure: - found in spaces surrounding the liver, intestines & in the omentum [1,2] Pathology: - produces cytokines, angiotensinogen [2] - secretes retinol-binding protein 4, increasing insulin resistance [2] - produces less leptin & less adiponectin than subcutaneous fat [2] Genetics: - influenced by polymorphisms in PPARG gene Complications: - risk factor for metabolic syndrome [1,2] - may be risk factor for dementia [2] - may be risk factor for asthma [2] - may be risk factor for breast cancer [2] - may be a risk factor for colorectal cancer [2] - abdominal obesity associated with earlier all-cause mortality [4] - abdominal obesity defined as a waist-to-hip ratio of < 0.9 in men & < 0.85 in women is associated with cognitive impairment [5] - abdominal adipose tissue is linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain in multiple sites, association is stronger in women [6] Management: - healthy lifestyle - healthy diet, exercise, healthy sleep - avoid hostility & depression - surgical removal of omental fat does not improve insulin sensitivity [1] - liposuction not recommended [2]

Related

waist-to-hip ratio

General

adipose tissue

Database Correlations

OMIM 609830

References

  1. Fabbrini E, Tamboli RA, Magkos F et al Surgical removal of omental fat does not improve insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular risk factors in obese adults. Gastroenterology. 2010 Aug;139(2):448-55. PMID: 20457158 ree PMC Article
  2. Harvard Women's Health Watch. August, 2010 Taking aim at belly fat https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/taking-aim-at-belly-fat
  3. UniProt :accession P37231
  4. Jayedi A et al. Central fatness and risk of all cause mortality: Systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of 72 prospective cohort studies. BMJ 2020 Sep 23; 370:m3324. PMID: 32967840 PMCID: PMC7509947 Free PMC article https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3324
  5. Lin Wy Associations of five obesity indicators with cognitive performance in 30,697 Taiwan Biobank participants. BMC Geriatrics. 2022 22:839. Nov 7 PMID: 36344931 https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-022-03457-x
  6. McGlade L MRI-Derived Abdominal Adipose Tissue Linked to Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain. Medscape. Sept 11, 2024 https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/mri-derived-abdominal-adipose-tissue-linked-chronic-2024a1000gh9