Visceral fat is a body fat that accumulates around the internal organs including liver, kidney, pancreas. It is stored deep underneath the skin that the subcutaneous fat which is present directly under the skin. Out of the two, visceral fat is very dangerous.
Being overweigth or obese is not the criteria to determine visceral fat. If you are not obese still you can have visceral fat. High amount of visceral fat is associated with insulin resistance which leads to type 2 diabetes.
We all have certain amount of visceral fat, but the one who has excessive amount of visceral fat is at increased risk of various health conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, alzheimer’s disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure.
A recent research reveals that visceral fat secretes substances that promote chronic inflammation, and chronic inflammation results in the formation of osteoclasts, these are the cells which cause the resorption of bone. In addition, vitamin D, which is important for bone health, is soluble in adipose tissue and gets trapped within fat cells. Hence a person with high amount of visceral fat are at a risk of weakened bone structure.