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Supportive Health

Visceral fat

Fat stored deep in the abdomen around the internal organs, which is more strongly tied to metabolic and cardiovascular risk than fat under the skin.

By the glp1.how editorial teamReviewed

Visceral fat is fat stored deep inside the abdomen, surrounding organs such as the liver, pancreas, and intestines. This is different from subcutaneous fat, which sits just under the skin and can be pinched.

Compared with subcutaneous fat, visceral fat is more strongly associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. That is part of why waist measurement is often used alongside overall weight to gauge metabolic health. An international position statement describes visceral fat as an independent risk marker for cardiovascular and metabolic disease (Neeland et al., 2019 (external link)).

metabolic healthbody compositioncardiovascular

Revision history

Updated 2 times since Jul 18, 2026 · show changes
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    Body revised

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    Body revised

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