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How to best assess abdominal obesity
Hongjuan Fang1,2, Elizabeth Berg2, Xiaoguang Cheng3
1Department of Endocrinology, Capital Medical University, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, China.
Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care
|June 20, 2018
Summary
Accurately measuring abdominal obesity, particularly visceral adipose tissue (VAT), is crucial for assessing health risks. Recent advancements offer improved methods beyond waist circumference, including 3D scanning and advanced imaging techniques.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Body Composition Analysis
- Obesity Research
Background:
- Abdominal obesity, specifically increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT), is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and fatty liver disease.
- Accurate measurement of abdominal fat is essential for risk assessment and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advancements in methods for measuring abdominal obesity.
- To compare emerging techniques with traditional measurements like waist circumference.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on abdominal obesity measurement techniques.
- Comparison of waist circumference, 3D body scanning, bioelectrical impedance analysis, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Main Results:
- Emerging 3D body-scanning techniques measure abdominal volume and shape, offering more detail than waist circumference.
- Bioelectrical impedance analysis and ultrasound have been adapted to improve VAT estimation.
- CT and MRI provide direct and accurate VAT measurements.
- Advanced imaging can assess functional aspects of abdominal fat, such as brown adipose tissue.
Conclusions:
- Waist circumference remains a simple and inexpensive measure.
- CT and MRI are gold standards for VAT measurement.
- Further research is needed to validate newer methods like dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis, ultrasound, and 3D body scanning for longitudinal VAT assessment and comparison with waist circumference across diverse populations.
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