Visceral adiposity as a target for the management of the metabolic syndrome
Ken Kishida1, Tohru Funahashi, Yuji Matsuzawa
1Department of Metabolic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Japan. kkishida@imed2.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
Insights
Visceral fat accumulation is linked to metabolic syndrome and increases atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) risk. Lifestyle changes reducing visceral fat may prevent ACVD events in at-risk individuals.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Metabolic Syndrome Research
- Obesity Studies
Background:
- Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) arises from complex factors beyond single risks.
- Metabolic syndrome, characterized by clustered cardiometabolic risk factors, is highly atherogenic.
- Visceral fat accumulation is a key correlate of metabolic syndrome, involving hormonal and inflammatory changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of visceral adiposity in metabolic syndrome and ACVD.
- To explore the potential of visceral fat reduction for ACVD prevention, particularly in Japanese populations.
- To emphasize lifestyle modification as a strategy for managing metabolic syndrome and preventing ACVD.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on visceral adiposity, metabolic syndrome, and ACVD.
- Analysis of the relationship between body fat distribution and cardiometabolic risk factors.
- Examination of the impact of visceral fat reduction on ACVD risk and hypoadiponectinemia.
Main Results:
- Visceral fat accumulation is a significant factor in metabolic syndrome, even with mild overall adiposity.
- Stratifying individuals by visceral fat may aid in ACVD risk assessment.
- Health promotion programs targeting visceral fat reduction show potential for ACVD event reduction.
Conclusions:
- Visceral adiposity is a critical component of the metabolic syndrome and a driver of ACVD.
- Lifestyle modifications aimed at reducing visceral fat are a promising strategy for ACVD prevention in patients with metabolic syndrome.
- Targeted interventions for visceral fat reduction can improve metabolic risks and hypoadiponectinemia.
Abstract:
Atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD), develops due not only to a single cardiovascular risk factor but to a variety of complex factors. The concept of the multiple cardiometabolic risk factor clustering syndrome has been proposed as a highly atherogenic state, independent of hypercholesterolemia and smoking. Body fat distribution, especially visceral fat accumulation, is a major correlate of a cluster of diabetogenic, atherogenic, prothrombotic, and proinflammatory metabolic abnormalities referred to as the metabolic syndrome, with dysfunctional adipocytes and dysregulated production of adipocytokines (hypoadiponectinemia). Medical research has focused on visceral adiposity as an important component of the syndrome in Japanese subjects with a mild degree of adiposity compared with Western subjects. For the prevention of ACVD at least in Japan, it might be practical to stratify subjects with multiple risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease based on visceral fat accumulation. Visceral fat reduction through health promotion programs using risk factor-oriented approaches may be effective in reducing ACVD events, as well as producing improvement in risks and hypoadiponectinemia. This review article discusses visceral adiposity as a key player in the syndrome. Visceral fat reduction with life-style modification is a potentially useful strategy in the prevention of ACVD in patients with the metabolic syndrome.
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