Body Fat & VAT

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Body Fat, VAT & Why they Matter

Body fat is essential. It helps regulate body temperature, it is required for hormone production and we need a certain amount of body fat for reproduction. Most importantly, our fat acts as an energy reserve. We have an almost unlimited capacity for storing energy as fat. If you consume more calories than you need, your body stores these calories as subcutaneous fat (or fat under the skin). When you exercise or need more energy, your body can draw from this type of fat as energy. This cycle of storing fat and using it for energy is a normal, healthy part of metabolic health. 

Each person has a different capacity for storing fat under the skin, largely determined by genetics. When you exceed your capacity, because you’re consuming more energy than you’re burning, that excess fat starts to spill over and get stored in other, more dangerous areas. Fat stored under the skin is normal, and this is known as subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat, on the other hand, is the fat that starts to surround our organs and gets embedded in our muscle. This is the dangerous type of fat that interferes with how our organs and muscles function. 

Visceral fat, also known as “Visceral Adipose Tissue” or “VAT” is associated with higher blood pressure, higher levels of triglycerides in the blood, lower levels of HDL cholesterol, insulin resistance, and higher blood glucose levels. Taken together, these changes are known as metabolic syndrome which causes a significant risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In addition, studies also show that increased levels of Visceral Adipose Tissue predispose people to dementia and cancer. 

This is why measuring body composition matters. Relying on someone’s weight alone or appearance alone is misleading. Someone may look very thin but have a relatively high Visceral Adipose Tissue or vice versa. At Benchmark we measure what matters, which includes Body Fat and Visceral Adipose Tissue. It's very common for people to set goals around losing weight and fitting into their clothes or to look better. We want to reframe this for you to focus on metrics that make you healthier rather than a subjective assessment of how you look. 

Your Body Composition DEXA Scan gives you a measurement of your Visceral Adipose Tissue and your Body Fat percentage.

How to Reduce Body Fat & VAT

Visceral Adipose Tissue is ‘spillover fat’ so the best way to lower this is by lowering your overall body fat. 

Strategies to lower body fat include:

  • Exercise: any exercise helps to lower your body fat. Ideally, a mixture of zone 2, vigorous exercise and weight training will help burn calories and lower body fat.

  • Nutrition: Maintain a healthy diet by prioritizing protein, fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates high in fiber, and by minimizing processed carbohydrates. This will help keep your blood sugars and insulin levels in a steady state because as we know, higher levels of insulin can lead to greater fat storage, as will excessive calories in general. 

  • Proper sleep and lower levels of stress can reduce your cortisol levels. High cortisol levels are part of our stress response, or “fight or flight” mode, which signals to the body to release glucose into the blood for energy because your body assumes you need energy quickly. This excess glucose in your blood triggers the release of insulin, which tells your body to store the glucose as fat.