The
visceral fat – the inner abdominal fat – is located in the abdominal cavity. It protects the internal organs such as the liver, intestines and pancreas. It is an important
energy reserve and extremely active in metabolism: With the release of chemical messengers, visceral abdominal fat is involved in the regulation of blood sugar levels and blood fat values. Too much of it can cause your
blood pressure to increase, your
blood fat levels to be adversely affected, and your
blood sugar levels to increase. In the long run, too much visceral abdominal fat can also promote cardiovascular disease, vascular disease, diabetes mellitus type 2 and cancer. From a medical point of view it is therefore important to reduce visceral abdominal fat to a healthy level.
However, visceral abdominal fat is only recognizable from a certain value onwards in a larger abdominal circumference. With various methods such as bioelectric impedance analysis or hydrostatic weighing, you can measure your general
body fat percentage and find out whether there is a need for action from a medical point of view, regardless of the abdominal circumference.