The fat deep in the belly is inflammatory, not just storage
It releases inflammatory molecules and helps drive plaque around heart arteries.
The Diary Of A CEO Clips · THIS Is #1 FASTEST Way To BURN Dangerous FatA belly that sticks out in front while a man looks slim from behind is the outward sign of insulin resistance, a condition in which the body makes extra insulin to keep blood sugar in check. A vascular doctor who treats blood vessel disease says that damage can start around age 30, long before most people feel sick.
The reason is that not all fat is the same. Pinchable fat under the skin, like the fat on the buttock, is mostly storage. The fat packed deep inside the abdomen, called visceral fat, behaves like a chemical factory.
A biopsy of visceral fat compared with a biopsy of fat from the buttock shows two different tissues. Visceral fat is loaded with inflammatory molecules, including interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor, which are proteins that rally the immune system and, in excess, damage healthy tissue. People who carry a lot of it show high levels of those molecules, plus C-reactive protein, a general marker of inflammation, on a blood test.
Then there is ectopic fat, which grows where fat should not be. It wraps around the liver and the pancreas, and it coats the heart and the coronary arteries that feed it.
That coating matters. On images of diseased arteries, the yellow tissue around each vessel is fat, and it is not inert. It is inflammatory, and it actively stimulates the buildup of plaque, the waxy clog that narrows arteries and can trigger heart attacks.
Questions people ask
How is plaque different from fat?
Plaque is a buildup inside the wall of an artery made of cholesterol, calcium, immune cells, and debris. Fat around the outside of the artery can release inflammatory signals that encourage that buildup on the inside, which then stiffens and narrows the vessel.
Can a regular doctor test for this kind of inflammation?
Yes. C-reactive protein can be measured with a simple blood test, and many labs also measure interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor. Higher results do not prove you have visceral fat, but together with waist size and insulin levels they give a clearer picture.
Does losing a few inches off the waist actually lower inflammation?
Yes, and often quickly. Visceral and ectopic fat are metabolically active, so they shrink first when the body draws on stored fat. As the volume falls, the output of inflammatory molecules usually falls too.