Visceral Adipose Tissue and Ectopic Fat Deposition

The accumulation of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and ectopic liver fat (ELF) generally parallel each other, but a proportion of individuals have discordant fat deposition. The cardiometabolic profile of individuals with a discordant phenotype is unknown.

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Unsupervised Exercise Training Was Not Found to Improve the Metabolic Health or Phenotype over a 6-Month Dietary Intervention: A Randomised Controlled Trial with an Embedded Economic Analysis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18158004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (15) ◽

pp. 8004

Author(s):

Wendy Hens ◽

Dirk Vissers ◽

Nick Verhaeghe ◽

Jan Gielen ◽

Luc Van Gaal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Economic Analysis ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Metabolic Health ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Fat Deposition ◽

Hypocaloric Diet ◽

Ectopic Fat ◽

Ectopic Fat Deposition

Ectopic fat leads to metabolic health problems. This research aimed to assess the effectiveness of a hypocaloric diet intervention together with an unsupervised exercise training program in comparison with a hypocaloric diet alone to reduce ectopic fat deposition. Sixty-one premenopausal women with overweight or obesity participated in this controlled trial and were each randomised into either a usual care group (hypocaloric diet) or intervention group (hypocaloric diet + unsupervised exercise training). Ectopic fat deposition, metabolic parameters, incremental costs from a societal perspective and incremental quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were assessed before, during and after the six-month intervention period. In the total sample, there was a significant decrease in visceral adipose tissue (VAT: −18.88 cm², 95% CI −11.82 to −25.95), subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAT: −46.74 cm², 95% CI −29.76 to −63.18), epicardial fat (ECF: −14.50 cm³, 95% CI −10.9 to −18.98) and intrahepatic lipid content (IHL: −3.53%, 95% CI −1.72 to −5.32). Consequently, an “adapted” economic analysis revealed a non-significant decrease in costs and an increase in QALYs after the intervention. No significant differences were found between groups. A multidisciplinary lifestyle approach seems successful in reducing ectopic fat deposition and improving the metabolic risk profile in women with overweight and obesity. The addition of unsupervised exercise training did not further improve the metabolic health or phenotype over the six months.

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N-3 HUFAs affect fat deposition, susceptibility to oxidative stress, and apoptosis in Atlantic salmon visceral adipose tissue

Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B Biochemistry and Molecular Biology ◽

10.1016/j.cbpb.2008.10.009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 152 (2) ◽

pp. 135-143 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Marijana Todorčević ◽

Marte A. Kjær ◽

Nataša Djaković ◽

Anne Vegusdal ◽

Bente E. Torstensen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Adipose Tissue ◽

Atlantic Salmon ◽

Visceral Adipose Tissue ◽

Fat Deposition ◽

Visceral Adipose

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The Plasma Metabolomic Profile is Differently Associated with Liver Fat, Visceral Adipose Tissue, and Pancreatic Fat

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ◽

10.1210/clinem/dgaa693 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 106 (1) ◽

pp. e118-e129

Author(s):

Lars Lind ◽

Samira Salihovic ◽

Ulf Risérus ◽

Joel Kullberg ◽

Lars Johansson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Visceral Adipose Tissue ◽

Liver Steatosis ◽

Liver Fat ◽

Plasma Metabolites ◽

Ectopic Fat ◽

Fat Depots ◽

Liver And Pancreas ◽

Fat Score ◽

Visceral Adipose

Abstract Context Metabolic differences between ectopic fat depots may provide novel insights to obesity-related diseases. Objective To investigate the plasma metabolomic profiles in relation to visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume and liver and pancreas fat percentages. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Multicenter at academic research laboratories. Patients Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to assess VAT volume, the percentage of fat in the liver and pancreas (proton density fat fraction [PDFF]) at baseline in 310 individuals with a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2 and with serum triglycerides ≥ 1.7 mmol/l and/or type 2 diabetes screened for inclusion in the 2 effect of omega-3 carboxylic acid on liver fat content studies. Intervention None. Main Outcome Measure Metabolomic profiling with mass spectroscopy enabled the determination of 1063 plasma metabolites. Results Thirty metabolites were associated with VAT volume, 31 with liver PDFF, and 2 with pancreas PDFF when adjusting for age, sex, total body fat mass, and fasting glucose. Liver PDFF and VAT shared 4 metabolites, while the 2 metabolites related to pancreas PDFF were unique. The top metabolites associated with liver PDFF were palmitoyl-palmitoleoyl-GPC (16:0/16:1), dihydrosphingomyelin (d18:0/22:0), and betaine. The addition of these metabolites to the Liver Fat Score improved C-statistics significantly (from 0.776 to 0.861, P = 0.0004), regarding discrimination of liver steatosis. Conclusion Liver PDFF and VAT adipose tissue shared several metabolic associations, while those were not shared with pancreatic PDFF, indicating partly distinct metabolic profiles associated with different ectopic fat depots. The addition of 3 metabolites to the Liver Fat Score improved the prediction of liver steatosis.

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Excess Visceral Adipose Tissue/Ectopic Fat

Journal of the American College of Cardiology ◽

10.1016/j.jacc.2010.10.063 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 57 (19) ◽

pp. 1887-1889 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Jean-Pierre Després

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Visceral Adipose Tissue ◽

Ectopic Fat ◽

Visceral Adipose

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Obesity Phenotypes, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Diseases

Circulation Research ◽

10.1161/circresaha.120.316101 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 126 (11) ◽

pp. 1477-1500 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Marie-Eve Piché ◽

André Tchernof ◽

Jean-Pierre Després

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Cardiovascular Diseases ◽

Body Fat ◽

Visceral Adipose Tissue ◽

Severe Obesity ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽

The Body ◽

Ectopic Fat ◽

Visceral Adipose

This review addresses the interplay between obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases. It is proposed that obesity, generally defined by an excess of body fat causing prejudice to health, can no longer be evaluated solely by the body mass index (expressed in kg/m 2 ) because it represents a heterogeneous entity. For instance, several cardiometabolic imaging studies have shown that some individuals who have a normal weight or who are overweight are at high risk if they have an excess of visceral adipose tissue—a condition often accompanied by accumulation of fat in normally lean tissues (ectopic fat deposition in liver, heart, skeletal muscle, etc). On the other hand, individuals who are overweight or obese can nevertheless be at much lower risk than expected when faced with excess energy intake if they have the ability to expand their subcutaneous adipose tissue mass, particularly in the gluteal-femoral area. Hence, excessive amounts of visceral adipose tissue and of ectopic fat largely define the cardiovascular disease risk of overweight and moderate obesity. There is also a rapidly expanding subgroup of patients characterized by a high accumulation of body fat (severe obesity). Severe obesity is characterized by specific additional cardiovascular health issues that should receive attention. Because of the difficulties of normalizing body fat content in patients with severe obesity, more aggressive treatments have been studied in this subgroup of individuals such as obesity surgery, also referred to as metabolic surgery. On the basis of the above, we propose that we should refer to obesities rather than obesity.

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The Relationships of Plasma Adiponectin with a Favorable Lipid Profile, Decreased Inflammation, and Less Ectopic Fat Accumulation Depend on Adiposity

Clinical Chemistry ◽

10.1373/clinchem.2006.067397 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 52 (10) ◽

pp. 1934-1942 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Konstantinos Kantartzis ◽

Killian Rittig ◽

Bernd Balletshofer ◽

Jürgen Machann ◽

Fritz Schick ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Endothelial Function ◽

Visceral Adipose Tissue ◽

Hdl Cholesterol ◽

Ectopic Fat ◽

Fat Accumulation ◽

Plasma Adiponectin ◽

Markers Of Inflammation ◽

Visceral Adipose ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Background: The metabolic effects of adiponectin, including insulin sensitivity, seem to become stronger with increasing adiposity. Adiposity may also affect the relationship of adiponectin concentrations with serum lipid profile; markers of inflammation, atherosclerosis, and endothelial function; and ectopic fat accumulation. Methods: We measured plasma adiponectin concentrations, serum lipids, and serum markers of inflammation, atherosclerosis, and endothelial function in 242 Caucasians without type 2 diabetes. We also measured visceral adipose tissue with magnetic resonance tomography and liver and intramyocellular fat with 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Results: We divided the study participants into 2 groups: lean [mean (SE) total body fat, 26% (0.6%); n = 119] and obese [36% (0.6%); n = 123]. In the obese group, plasma adiponectin concentrations showed a strong positive association with concentrations of HDL cholesterol (P <0.0001) and negative associations with LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, apolipoprotein B100, soluble E-selectin, soluble vascular cellular adhesion molecule 1, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, leukocyte count, and liver and intramyocellular fat (all P <0.03). In the lean group, adiponectin showed a less strong association with HDL cholesterol (P = 0.005) and liver fat (P = 0.03) and no significant associations with the other variables (all P >0.10). High visceral adipose tissue was a strong predictor of low adiponectin concentrations, particularly in the obese group, and attenuated many of the significant relationships. Conclusions: High adiponectin plasma concentrations are associated with favorable lipid profiles, decreased subclinical inflammation, decreased markers of atherosclerosis and endothelial function, and low ectopic fat accumulation, particularly in obese persons. Adiponectin may also have a concentration-related effect on the relationship between visceral adipose tissue and these metabolic characteristics, especially in obese persons.

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