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Submit a Letter to the Editor

Abdominal obesity: a marker of ectopic fat accumulation
Ulf Smith
Ulf Smith
Published May 1, 2015
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2015;125(5):1790-1792. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI81507.
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Hindsight

Abdominal obesity: a marker of ectopic fat accumulation

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Abstract

In the early 1980s, we analyzed the metabolic profile of 930 men and women and concluded that an abdominal distribution of fat for a given BMI is associated with increased insulin resistance and risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The correlation between abdominal fat and metabolic dysfunction has since been validated in many studies, and waist circumference is now a criterion for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. Several mechanisms for this relationship have been postulated; however, we now know that visceral fat is only one of many ectopic fat depots used when the subcutaneous adipose tissue cannot accommodate excess fat because of its limited expandability.

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Ulf Smith

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