How Fat Storage Can Harm You
Our body fat is indeed different depending on its location. Subcutaneous fat is the layer of fat just under the skin, all over the body. Visceral fat is located deep in the abdominal cavity around the organs. We have a limited amount of control over the distribution of our body fat. Body fat distribution varies by age, gender, ethnicity, and genetics. You may have a normal BMI – thinking your weight is not putting your health at risk – but have a waist circumference that indicates abdominal obesity. By waist circumference, abdominal obesity is defined as 35 inches for women, 40 for men. Abdominal obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and later-life dementia. A large waist circumference has been linked to negative outcomes even among people with normal BMI numbers. Additionally, some studies have compared two groups of obese patients with the same total body fat, but low or high levels of visceral fat. The high visceral fat groups were found to have e...