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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Whole Body and Regional Quantification of Active Human Brown Adipose Tissue Using 18F-FDG PET/CT

Whole Body and Regional Quantification of Active Human Brown Adipose Tissue Using ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT

Published on: April 1, 2019

Whole body fat: content and distribution.

E L Thomas¹, J A Fitzpatrick, S J Malik

¹Metabolic and Molecular Imaging Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, London, UK. louise.thomas@csc.mrc.ac.uk

Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

|August 22, 2013

Summary

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Spectroscopy (MRS) are gold-standard tools for measuring body fat and distribution. These techniques are crucial for understanding obesity-related diseases and defining healthy body fat levels.

Keywords:

(1)H MR Spectroscopy Adipose tissue Ectopic Fat IHCL IMCL MRI Visceral fat

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Isolation of Adipogenic and Fibro-Inflammatory Stromal Cell Subpopulations from Murine Intra-Abdominal Adipose Depots

Isolation of Adipogenic and Fibro-Inflammatory Stromal Cell Subpopulations from Murine Intra-Abdominal Adipose Depots

Published on: August 16, 2020

Area of Science:

Medical imaging and diagnostics
Metabolic and cardiovascular health

Background:

Obesity and its comorbidities (type II diabetes, insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases) pose significant global health and economic challenges.
Accurate assessment of body fat content, distribution, and ectopic fat depots is essential for understanding obesity-related health risks.
Existing methods for body fat assessment have limitations in accuracy and reproducibility.

Purpose of the Study:

To review current Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques for determining body fat content and distribution.
To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) for assessing ectopic fat in organs like the liver, muscle, pancreas, and heart.
To compare MRS with emerging MRI techniques for creating ectopic fat maps and redefining healthy body fat parameters.

Main Methods:

Review of various MRI techniques employed for body fat quantification and spatial distribution analysis.
Evaluation of MRS for measuring ectopic fat content in key organs.
Comparison of established MRI/MRS methods with novel MRI approaches for ectopic fat mapping.

Main Results:

MRI and MRS are established as the gold-standard for accurate and reproducible measurement of body fat content and distribution, including ectopic depots.
Specific MRI techniques offer detailed insights into overall adiposity.
MRS provides quantitative data on ectopic fat, while new MRI techniques are emerging for comprehensive ectopic fat mapping.

Conclusions:

MRI and MRS are indispensable tools for advancing the understanding of obesity and its associated metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.
These imaging modalities are critical for accurately assessing body composition and identifying detrimental ectopic fat accumulation.
Ongoing advancements in MRI/MRS are refining the definition of healthy body fat content and distribution, aiding clinical practice and public health initiatives.