27
- ¿Qué es la grasa visceral?
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is fat that accumulates in the abdominal cavity and around internal
organs. VAT is said to be more likely to cause lifestyle-related diseases than subcutaneous adipose
tissue (SCAT). Accordingly, knowing and periodically checking the VAT accumulation risk serves as
an important guide in the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases.
Tanita has developed the technology for measuring the VAT accumulation risk through bioelectrical
impedance analysis (BIA) in comparison with image analysis applied to magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), in addition to the established technology for measuring the percent of body fat. The VAT accu-
mulation risk is calculated by estimating the VAT area by the BIA method on the basis of MRI image
processing. This method has a higher correlation than the estimation of the VAT accumulation risk
based on BMI or abdominal circumference (waist circumference), allowing estimation that corre-
sponds more precisely to individuals.
*The VAT area by MRI is calculated by carrying out an image processing of the cross section of the
lumber vertebra L4-L5 regions.
(Fig. 1 - Fig. 3: Research results by N. Y. Columbia University and Jikei University Published by the
North American Association for the Study of Obesity [NAASO] in 2004.)
<Fig. 1> Relación entre el área del TAV y el IMC
macho
R = 0.548
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
IMC
VA
T
cm
2
(I
RM
)
femenino
macho
femenino
R = 0.641
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
IMC
VA
Tc
m
2
(I
RM
)
<Fig. 3> Relación entre el área TAV MRI y se estima
Zona TAV por AIB Tanita
y = 1.0631x - 6.2605
R2 = 0.7058
R = 0.840
p<0.0001
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0
100
200
300
AV estimada (AIB)
TA
V
(IR
M
) c
m
2
y = 0.9907x + 0.5024
R2 = 0.784
R = 0.886
p<0.0001
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0
100
200
300
AV estimada (AIB)
TA
V
(IR
M
) c
m
2
<Fig. 2> Relación entre el área del TAV y la circunferencia de la cintura
macho
R = 0.788
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
50
70
90
110
130
Cintura cm
VA
Tc
m
2
(I
RM
)
femenino
R = 0.787
0
50
100
150
200
250
50
70
90
110
130
Cintura cm
VA
Tc
m
2
(I
RM
)
E
87
