Hidden deep inside the abdomen is a type of body fat that many people rarely think about, yet it may have a powerful effect on long-term health.
This fat, called visceral fat, surrounds important organs such as the liver, stomach, and intestines. Unlike the fat that sits just under the skin, visceral fat is much more active and can release chemicals that affect many parts of the body. A new study suggests it may also speed up the body’s aging process. The research was published in the journal Obesity.
Scientists from The University of Western Australia wanted to understand whether visceral fat was linked to biological aging. Biological aging is different from chronological aging.
Chronological age is simply the number of years a person has lived. Biological age reflects how healthy the body’s cells and organs appear to be. Two people of the same age can have very different biological ages depending on their lifestyle, health, and genetics.
The researchers analyzed information from nearly 4,800 adults between 45 and 69 years of age who participated in the Busselton Healthy Aging Study, one of the world’s longest-running population health studies. The project has collected health information for decades, allowing scientists to better understand factors that influence healthy aging.
The results showed that people with more visceral fat tended to have signs of faster biological aging. This relationship was found in both men and women.
In women, the researchers also found that higher visceral fat was linked with shorter telomeres. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. They naturally become shorter as people grow older, and shorter telomeres are widely considered a marker of cellular aging.
Importantly, the findings remained even after the researchers considered body mass index, waist size, total body fat, and lifestyle habits. This suggests that visceral fat may have unique effects beyond simply being overweight.
Scientists believe this happens because visceral fat produces inflammatory substances that circulate throughout the body. Long-term inflammation can damage tissues, interfere with metabolism, and contribute to diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and fatty liver disease. Over many years, these effects may also accelerate biological aging.
One encouraging finding is that visceral fat can be measured using imaging methods already used in many bone density scans. This could help doctors identify people at higher risk and encourage early lifestyle changes.
Although genes influence where fat is stored, regular physical activity, healthy eating, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing sugary foods, limiting alcohol, and getting enough sleep can all help reduce visceral fat. Even modest weight loss has been shown in previous studies to lower harmful abdominal fat.
This study included a large number of participants and used high-quality long-term health data, making the findings reliable. However, because it was observational, it cannot prove that visceral fat directly causes faster aging.
Other unknown factors may also contribute. Even so, the results strengthen growing evidence that abdominal fat is more harmful than many people realize and should be an important target for healthy aging.
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Source: The University of Western Australia.
