Even at normal weight, location of body fat is important in determining health risks

Rather than visible fat, visceral fat, located around internal organs, was associated with metabolic syndrome. Research shows that visceral fat and fat located around the abdominal muscles increases middle-aged adults' risk of metabolic syndrome.

• The distribution of body fat in older men and women is associated with metabolic syndrome, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, even in normal weight individuals, according to the April 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
• Metabolic syndrome, a disorder that includes dyslipidemia (elevated blood lipid levels), insulin resistance and high blood pressure, affects 22 percent of adults in the U.S. and an even higher (42) percent of older men and women, according to background information in the article.
• In addition to overweight and obesity, patterns of fat distribution in middle-aged adults may confer additional risk for metabolic syndrome, but it is not known whether this is true for older individuals.
• Patients were examined and characterized as having metabolic syndrome if they met at least three of the following criteria: waist circumference greater than about 40.2 inches in men or 34.7 inches in women; elevated blood triglyceride levels; low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels; high blood pressure, treated or untreated; and elevated blood sugar level, treated or untreated.
• Individuals were classified as normal weight, overweight or obese based on the basis of body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) with a BMI of less than 25.0 considered normal weight, overweight was defined as a BMI of 25.0-29.9 and obese was defined by a BMI of greater than 29.9.
• Visceral fat (fat found in the deeper tissues and around the body's organs rather than just under the skin) was associated with metabolic syndrome in older men and women whether they were normal weight, overweight or obese.
• "This suggests that practitioners should not discount the risk of metabolic syndrome in their older patients entirely on the basis of body weight or BMI.