The number on the scale doesn’t give clinicians a lot of context about your health. This is why longevity experts are often more interested in targeted screenings, such as DEXA scans, which can measure lean mass, fat mass, and bone mineral density. They can also estimate how much visceral fat you have.
Visceral fat is a type of adipose tissue stored deep within your abdominal cavity around your internal organs. Some visceral fat is normal, but excess amounts are associated with cardiometabolic risk, and it’s not something that total body fat percentage can isolate from other types of adipose tissue.
Unlike the subcutaneous fat you can pinch beneath your skin, visceral fat is metabolically active and associated with insulin resistance and cardiometabolic conditions including diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. [1]
This is one reason you can’t fully evaluate someone's metabolic health based on weight or BMI alone. Two people at the same weight can have very different amounts of muscle, subcutaneous fat, and visceral fat, and potentially very different risk profiles.
At Biograph, visceral fat is one piece of a much larger picture. By evaluating body composition alongside blood biomarkers, cardiovascular health, fitness, nutrition, and other clinical information, we can better understand where risk may be developing and what we can do about it.
Visceral fat vs. subcutaneous fat: What's the difference?
Subcutaneous fat sits directly beneath your skin and makes up much of the body fat you can see or pinch. Visceral fat, also called visceral adipose tissue or VAT, sits deeper within your abdominal cavity around your internal organs.
The two also differ in their cellular composition, physiological functions, and potential health consequences. Research shows that a higher ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors including higher blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance, even after accounting for BMI. [2]
What does visceral fat tell you about your health?
Measuring visceral fat and comparing that against other clinical information can help provide a deeper understanding into your cardiometabolic health.
Visceral fat and insulin resistance
Insulin helps move glucose (sugar) out of your bloodstream into cells where it can be used for energy or stored for later use. In people with insulin resistance, cells become less responsive to insulin, which over time can contribute to elevated blood sugar and type 2 diabetes.
Research has long shown an association between excess visceral fat and impaired insulin signaling. [3] That’s why clinicians may interpret visceral fat alongside fasting glucose, HbA1c, insulin-related markers, triglycerides, liver health, and other measures of metabolic health.
Visceral fat and cardiovascular risk
Higher amounts of visceral fat have been linked to several cardiometabolic risk factors, including hypertension and abnormal lipid levels. [1] Research examining the ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat has similarly found associations with blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance independent of BMI. [2]
Visceral fat doesn’t just store energy. It’s metabolically active tissue that releases hormones and other signaling molecules that can influence inflammation and metabolic function.
Excess visceral fat may contribute to chronic low-grade inflammation, which is associated with metabolic and cardiovascular disease. [3] But visceral fat is only one factor influencing these processes, which is why it should be interpreted alongside other measures of metabolic health.
Can you have high visceral fat at a normal weight?
Absolutely. People with similar weights or BMIs can have very different body compositions. One person may have more skeletal muscle and relatively little visceral fat, while another may have less muscle and more visceral fat.
A BMI in the “normal” range, which is a score of 18.5 to 24.9, doesn’t necessarily mean you have a low visceral fat level. [4] The opposite is also true: A higher body weight doesn’t automatically mean you have excess visceral fat.
This is where measuring visceral fat directly can provide additional context. A visceral fat area (VFA) of 100 cm² is commonly used as a reference point for elevated visceral fat and cardiometabolic risk. [5] However, there isn’t one universal cutoff that applies across every age, sex, ethnicity, or measurement method. [6]
Weight and BMI have a place in medicine, but neither gives clinicians the whole picture, especially when it comes to visceral fat.
How do you measure visceral fat?
There are several ways to estimate or directly assess visceral fat. The method matters when interpreting the result.
Waist measurements
Waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio are simple, inexpensive screening tools for abdominal adiposity that can help identify increased cardiometabolic risk. However, they can’t distinguish visceral fat from subcutaneous abdominal fat, so they provide an estimate rather than a direct snap shot of visceral fat.
DEXA body composition scan
DEXA measures fat mass, lean mass, bone mineral density, and can estimate visceral adipose tissue in the abdominal region. This provides a more complete picture of body composition and can reveal meaningful changes that weight alone may miss, such as decreasing visceral fat alongside increasing lean mass.
CT scan and MRI
CT and MRI can also quantify visceral adipose tissue and provide detailed information about fat distribution. However, measurements from DEXA, CT, and MRI aren't necessarily interchangeable and can vary based on the technology, anatomical region assessed, and units used. [7]
In other words, it’s important to be consistent with how you measure visceral fat when tracking it over time.
How can you reduce visceral fat?
Regular physical activity is one of the most important tools for improving body composition and metabolic health. Generally speaking, a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training can support cardiovascular fitness, insulin sensitivity, muscle mass, and healthier body composition. [8]
Nutrition matters as well. Rather than focusing exclusively on calories or a particular number on the scale, aim for a sustainable dietary pattern that supports your individual metabolic needs and provides adequate protein, fiber, and nutrient-dense foods.
Sleep, alcohol intake, stress, medications, hormonal changes, and underlying medical conditions can also affect visceral fat accumulation and your metabolic health.
For some people, reducing visceral fat occurs alongside weight loss, but the two aren’t synonymous. Tracking visceral fat alongside your lean mass and other key metabolic markers can provide a clearer picture of whether your body composition and overall health are improving.
How Biograph evaluates visceral fat
At Biograph, we don’t use visceral fat as a standalone score of metabolic health. Our DEXA body composition assessment allows us to evaluate visceral fat alongside lean mass, total fat mass, and bone mineral density. We can then interpret those findings in the context of advanced blood work, cardiovascular assessment, VO2 max, nutrition, exercise, and other clinical data.
A scale tells you what you weigh. Body composition can tell us much more about what that weight is made of and where potential health risks may be hiding, so we can take action accordingly with holistic and clinical interventions.
Commonly asked questions about visceral fat
What is visceral fat?
Visceral fat is fat stored deep within the abdominal cavity around internal organs. Excess visceral fat is associated with insulin resistance and other cardiometabolic risk factors.
What does visceral fat mean on a DEXA scan?
A DEXA scan can estimate visceral adipose tissue in the abdominal region while also measuring lean mass, total fat mass, and bone mineral density. The result provides additional information about body composition that weight or BMI alone cannot provide.
Is visceral fat worse than subcutaneous fat?
Excess visceral fat generally has stronger associations with cardiometabolic risk than subcutaneous fat because of differences in where the tissue is stored and how it functions metabolically. However, visceral fat should still be interpreted alongside other health measures rather than viewed in isolation.
What is a healthy visceral fat level?
There is no single healthy visceral fat level that applies to everyone. Interpretation depends on the measurement method used as well as other factors including your age, sex, body composition, and overall metabolic and cardiovascular health.
Can visceral fat improve with exercise and nutrition?
Yes. Visceral fat is modifiable, and regular exercise and sustainable nutrition changes can help improve body composition and metabolic health. The most appropriate strategy depends on your baseline health, body composition, fitness, and individual risk factors.
Dr. Michael Doney is Biograph’s Executive Medical Director, with over 20 years of experience leading clinical care and advancing a more proactive, data-driven approach to medicine.
Clinical references
Shetty S, Renuka Suvarna, Bhattacharya S, Seetharaman K. Visceral Adiposity and Cardiometabolic Risk: Clinical Insights and Assessment. Cardiology in Review. Published online July 7, 2025. doi:10.1097/crd.0000000000000984
Kaess BM, Pedley A, Massaro JM, Murabito J, Hoffmann U, Fox CS. The ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat, a metric of body fat distribution, is a unique correlate of cardiometabolic risk. Diabetologia. 2012;55(10):2622-2630. doi:10.1007/s00125-012-2639-5
Hardy OT, Czech MP, Corvera S. What Causes the Insulin Resistance Underlying Obesity? Current Opinion in Endocrinology & Diabetes and Obesity. 2012;19(2):81-87. doi:10.1097/med.0b013e3283514e13
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult BMI Calculator. BMI. June 26, 2024. Accessed September 4, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/bmi/adult-calculator/index.html
Gadekar T, Dudeja P, Basu I, Vashisht S, Mukherji S. Correlation of visceral body fat with waist–hip ratio, waist circumference and body mass index in healthy adults: A cross sectional study. Medical Journal Armed Forces India. 2018;76(1). doi:10.1016/j.mjafi.2017.12.001
Bennett JP, Prado CM, Heymsfield SB, Shepherd JA. Evaluation of visceral adipose tissue thresholds for elevated metabolic syndrome risk across diverse populations: A systematic review. Obesity Reviews. 2024;25(9). doi:10.1111/obr.13767
Murata H, Yagi T, Midorikawa T, Torii S, Takai E, Taguchi M. Comparison between DXA and MRI for the Visceral Fat Assessment in Athletes. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2022;43(07):625-631. doi:10.1055/a-1717-1619
Schroeder EC, Franke WD, Sharp RL, Lee D. Comparative effectiveness of aerobic, resistance, and combined training on cardiovascular disease risk factors: A randomized controlled trial. , ed.Atkin SL. PLOS ONE. 2019;14(1):e0210292. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0210292
