Hidden Body Fat May Be Speeding Up Your Heart Aging, Study Finds

Too much visceral fat– The genre that brings together deeply in your median section and wraps around your organs – can accelerate aging in your Heart and blood vessels, A new study shows.

Visceral fat is sneaky: you can transport a lot without knowing it – while planting in a “healthy” weight range if you do. But it is more harmful than fat than fat found under the skin – known as the stomach fat or subcutaneous fat, Declan O’Regan, MBBS, PHD, main researcher and professor at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science and Imperial College of London, said Health.

Visceral fat has been linked to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other chronic conditions.

But the new study, published on August 22 in the European Heart Journal, is the first to suggest that he can also accelerate aging, said O’Regan.

The study stresses that “individuals should pay attention to their total body fat but also to its distribution,” said Nour Makarem, PHD, assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, who examined the new study.

The team assessed the imaging analyzes of 21,241 British Biobank participants, a full health database. The analyzes revealed details on their hearts, their blood vessels and the distribution of visceral and subcutaneous fat.

Using artificial intelligence, researchers have identified signs of organic aging, such as rigid and inflamed tissues, and attributed to each participant a heart era.

People whose Cardiac age has passed their chronological One usually had Higher levels of visceral fat.

Visceral fat increases inflammation, which probably contributes to faster aging, said O’Regan.

It also promotes resistance to insulin, an early stage in the development of diabetes and heart disease, and increases “bad” cholesterol, which makes it more likely to accumulate in blood vessels and lead to cardiovascular disease, added Tiffany Powell-Wiley, MD, MPH, a senior investigator who studied visceral fat and cardiovascular, but was not involved in the new study.

On the other hand, said O’Regan, physically in shape with obesity had a “younger” cardiovascular age than unfit people.

This may be due to the fact that exercise helps reduce visceral fats. A 2024 study revealed that regular exercises were more likely to store fat in subcutaneous tissues rather than visceral fats, and the visceral fat they had was less harmful – even if they were considered overweight or obese.

Researchers also discovered notable differences between the sexes with regard to aging and heart aging.

Fat around the belly – or the shape of the apple – was predictive of early cardiovascular aging in men. Interestingly, fat around hips and thighs, also known as “Pear” in shape, seemed to be protector against heart aging in women. (In these regions, fats can release chemicals that block inflammation, said O’Regan.)

Women also tended to have more subcutaneous fats, while men were subject to high levels of visceral fat – and it increased more sharply with age, increasing by around 8.2% per decade, compared to 5.3% in women. Hormonal differences can help explain this, revealed that research has revealed.

The team also revealed a link between higher estrogen levels in premenopausal women and slower heart aging, suggesting that hormone can play a protective role.

While the body mass index (BMI) has long been used to determine obesity and predict health -related risks – researchers have found that unlike fat distribution, metric was not linked to heart aging. As such, fat distribution is a more important factor to consider, said O’Regan.

“It is important to know where fats are stored to know its potential damage,” said O’Regan.

The challenge is that it is difficult to know how much visceral fat you really have.

Currently, the only reliable way of measuring it is through an MRI or double energy scan x -ray absorptiometry (Dexa) – tests which are generally not carried out or covered by insurance, Carl Lavie, MD, the medical director of cardiac rehabilitation and preventive cardiology in John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, said that Discus Health.

A more affordable way to estimate visceral fat, has added Lavie, is to measure your waist And test your levels of triglycerides.

Although following a healthy diet is always beneficial, research is mixed on the question of whether the diet alone can considerably reduce visceral fats. A 2023 study, for example, revealed that the simple cut of calories had little effect. Meanwhile, another article revealed that a low carbohydrate diet and an intermittent fast caused weight loss – with fasting showing the greatest impact.

What matters most, according to Lavie, do enough exercise. A 2022 study has identified the most effective strategy: a combination of training at high intensity intervals – or aerobic and aerobic exercise.