Assessment Of Visceral Fat Area Research Articles

Age-specific association of physical activity on visceral obesity: Cross-sectional study

AimsObesity is a chronic disease that needs to be managed worldwide. High-intensity physical activity has a positive effect on the improvement and prevention of metabolic diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the age-specific association of physical activity on abdominal and visceral obesity. MethodsThe study involved 456 health check-up participants who underwent abdominal computed tomography scans for the assessment of visceral fat area from January 2017 to December 2017. Physical activity levels were categorized as none-to-low-intensity or moderate-to-vigorous-intensity based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis, adjusted for covariates, assessed the association of physical activity with abdominal and visceral obesity across 10-year age intervals. ResultsThe moderate-to-vigorous physical activity group showed 56.5% visceral obesity, while the none-to-low-intensity physical activity group had 63.2%. Most age groups exhibited no significant differences in abdominal or visceral obesity according to physical activity. However, the 50 to 59 age group demonstrated a noteworthy association between visceral obesity and none-to-low-intensity physical activity (odds ratio 3.79, 95% confidence interval 1.12–12.84). ConclusionsThis study highlights a distinct age-related response to physical activity, emphasizing the 50 to 59 age group's significant association between visceral obesity and none-to-low-intensity physical activity.

Relationships of Obesity-Related Indices and Metabolic Syndrome with Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Middle-Aged Untreated Japanese Workers.

Aim: Obesity is a social problem due to the prevalence of the Western lifestyle. In particular, visceral fat accumulation, which is a main component of metabolic syndrome, is closely associated with the progression of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate the relationships of obesity-related indices and metabolic syndrome with subclinical atherosclerosis in middle-aged untreated workers.Methods: Employees undergoing their periodic health check-up but without previous cardiovascular events or cardiovascular medications were enrolled in this study (n = 7,750). Body mass index (BMI), percent body fat, waist circumference, and visceral fat area were evaluated as obesity-related indices. Assessment of visceral fat area was performed by computed tomography (CT). Subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed by measuring arterial stiffness using cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and by ultrasound examination of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT).Results: Obesity-related indices were significantly correlated with each other and were positively associated with carotid IMT but negatively associated with CAVI in multivariate regression analysis. In a logistic regression analysis including CAVI and carotid IMT simultaneously, CAVI was negatively associated, but carotid IMT was positively associated, with obesity defined by each obesity-related index. In contrast, both CAVI and carotid IMT were positively associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome based on visceral fat accumulation.Conclusions: Obesity-related indices were negatively associated with CAVI and positively associated with carotid IMT in middle-aged untreated workers, while both CAVI and carotid IMT were worsened in the presence of metabolic syndrome.

Body fat composition as a marker for risk assessment in hypertension

Introduction: High blood pressure (BP) is one of the most common chronic medical problems prompting visits to primary health-care providers. The incidence of lifestyle diseases over the years has shown an upward trend in developing countries too, which is a cause of grave concern for the health care professionals. Research suggests that undesirable body composition has a major bearing on health, fitness and lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and diabetes. Study: The aim of the study was to compare the body composition of hypertensive patients with normal subjects using state of the art impedance based noninvasive body composition analyzer. The study evaluated the body composition of hypertensive patients and compared the same with subjects with normal BP. The study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital in Pune. Body composition variables considered for the study were anthropometry, percent body fat, lean body mass, fat distribution, and visceral fat composition. Results: The analysis of body fat included obesity degree, visceral fat area (VFA), body fat mass, and percent body fat. The mean body fat mass was found to be 21.7Kg. The mean percent Body Fat was 28.9%, which was much higher than the normal. Various parameters depicting body fat were compared. All of them, namely body fat mass, percent body fat, obesity degree, and VFA were found to be significantly higher in hypertensives as compared to the other group. Conclusion: Besides other anthropometric parameters, assessment of VFA may be included as an essential measure to assess and even predict hypertension. Those with high VFA must be monitored closely for developing hypertension and other lifestyle diseases.

Comparison between two methods of bioelectrical impedance analyses for accuracy in measuring abdominal visceral fat area

ObjectivesTo compare the accuracy of abdominal visceral fat area (VFA) measurements between abdominal dual bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and whole-body BIA referenced to computed tomography (CT) measures. MethodsAbdominal VFAs were measured in 102 individuals: 59 men and 43 women with a mean age of 44.2±16.3years (range 21 – 76), body mass index 23.9±7.8kg/m2 (range 18 – 35) using a DUALSCAN HDS-2000 machine (dual abdominal BIA) and an InBody720 machine (whole-body BIA). The VFA values from each machine were compared with those from CT under various conditions. ResultsMean abdominal VFAs were 116±69cm2 by CT, 89±47cm2 by dual abdominal BIA, and 84±33cm2 by whole-body BIA. The former measure showed a higher correlation with the CT measure than the latter (r=0.89 vs. r=0.64, P<0.001). Both BIA methods tended to underestimate abdominal VFAs compared with CT scans when CT VFA was not small. The dual abdominal BIA had less bias than the whole-body BIA in the assessment of VFAs. The whole-body BIA was affected by subcutaneous fat area. ConclusionsDual BIA was more accurate in assessing abdominal VFA than whole-body BIA.

Development of a New Method for Estimating Visceral Fat Area with Multi-Frequency Bioelectrical Impedance

Excessive visceral fat area (VFA) is a major risk factor in such conditions as cardiovascular disease. In assessing VFA, computed tomography (CT) is adopted as the gold standard; however, this method is cost intensive and involves radiation exposure. In contrast, the bioelectrical impedance (BI) method for estimating body composition is simple and noninvasive and thus its potential application in VFA assessment is being studied. To overcome the difference in obtained impedance due to measurement conditions, we developed a more precise estimation method by selecting the optimum body posture, electrode arrangement, and frequency. The subjects were 73 healthy volunteers, 37 men and 36 women, who underwent CT scans to assess VFA and who were measured for anthropometry parameters, subcutaneous fat layer thickness, abdominal tissue area, and impedance. Impedance was measured by the tetrapolar impedance method using multi-frequency BI. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to estimate VFA. The results revealed a strong correlation between VFA observed by CT and VFA estimated by impedance (r = 0.920). The regression equation accurately classified VFA > or = 100 cm(2) in 13 out of 14 men and 1 of 1 woman. Moreover, it classified VFA > or = 100 cm(2) or < 100 cm(2) in 3 out of 4 men and 1 of 1 woman misclassified by waist circumference (W) which was adopted as a simple index to evaluate VFA. Therefore, using this simple and convenient method for estimating VFA, we obtained an accurate assessment of VFA using the BI method.

A New Simple Method for the Measurement of Visceral Fat Accumulation by Bioelectrical Impedance

We and others (1–9) have shown that the accumulation of visceral fat is associated with multiple risk factor syndrome more closely than with the BMI itself or the amount of subcutaneous fat. In these studies, computed tomography (CT) scan at the umbilical level (10) was used for the assessment of visceral fat area (VFA). However, the method is not cost-effective and/or radiation exposure is problematic; thus, it is often unsuitable for screening large groups of individuals. There is a need for a simple and noninvasive method to assess visceral fat accumulation. The bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method, which is based on the electric resistance difference between the fat and components of other organs (11–14), should meet this need. Conventional BIA approaches have estimated total fat content but not regional fat distribution (11–13). Recently, attempts to assess the amount of abdominal subcutaneous fat by the local BIA method were reported (14). Here, we developed a new technique to specifically evaluate VFA by using the abdominal BIA method. The study subjects were 59 healthy volunteers and 32 inpatients with suspected cardiovascular disease at Osaka University Hospital. Waist circumference (Wc) at the umbilical level was measured in the late exhalation phase while standing. All subjects underwent the abdominal BIA method to estimate VFA. The voltage occurring at the flank to the flow of current between the umbilicus and the back correlates significantly …