New research shows that too much hidden belly fat—called visceral fat—can make your heart age faster.
This kind of fat surrounds your organs deep inside your body, and while you can’t see it, it may silently harm your health over time.
Aging is the biggest risk factor for heart disease. But not everyone ages the same way or at the same speed. Scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Medical Sciences in London wanted to find out why. Their new study suggests that visceral fat might be part of the reason why some people’s hearts age faster than others.
The study looked at data from over 21,000 people in the UK Biobank, a health research project that collects detailed health information.
Researchers used special body scans to measure fat stored in different parts of the body. They also used artificial intelligence to examine heart images and estimate the biological “heart age” of each participant, comparing it to their actual age.
The results were clear: people with more visceral fat had hearts that looked older than their real age. Visceral fat is the kind that builds up around the stomach, liver, and intestines.
Unlike the fat you can pinch under your skin, this type hides deep inside the abdomen. Surprisingly, even people with a normal body weight could have high levels of this hidden fat.
Blood tests from the study also showed that visceral fat increases inflammation in the body. Inflammation is a normal immune response, but when it becomes chronic, it can damage organs and speed up aging.
Interestingly, the effects of body fat differed between men and women. Men who stored more fat around their belly (known as “apple-shaped” fat) showed signs of faster heart aging. But for women, storing fat around the hips and thighs (called “pear-shaped” fat) actually appeared to protect the heart from aging.
The researchers believe that estrogen, a hormone found in higher levels in women before menopause, may help slow down heart aging. This might explain why women with more fat on their hips and thighs had healthier-looking hearts.
Professor Declan O’Regan, who led the study, explained that the type and location of fat in your body is more important than simply your weight or BMI. He also said that even people who are physically active can have harmful hidden fat, so staying fit is not the only answer.
In the future, the research team hopes to study whether medications like GLP-1 inhibitors—drugs like Ozempic that are used for diabetes and weight loss—could help reduce the aging effects of visceral fat. These drugs might not only help people lose weight but also slow down how fast the heart ages.
Professor Bryan Williams from the British Heart Foundation said this kind of hidden fat is already known to raise blood pressure and cholesterol. Now, we also know it may speed up heart aging. He added that estrogen might play a key role in new treatments for heart aging, especially in women.
The good news is that lifestyle changes, like eating a healthy diet and being more physically active, can help reduce visceral fat. Even small changes may help your heart stay younger for longer.
The study is published in European Heart Journal.
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