Abstract

Body Fat Partitioning and Metabolic Health

Suresh Anand Sadananthan , Research Fellow, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS)

The study of fat distribution is important to understand the pathophysiology of obesity-related disorders, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Accumulation of fat in different depots has different effects on insulin resistance and hence varied risks for metabolic diseases. The primary site of fat storage is the subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and failure in the capacity for adipose tissue expansion leads to storage of fat in ectopic sites such as liver, muscle and heart. Visceral fat has been shown to be more detrimental than subcutaneous fat. Recently, it has been observed that the two sub-compartments of SAT, deep SAT (DSAT) and superficial SAT (SSAT) have different structure and function. MRI and MRS provide a non-invasive way to investigate body fat distribution in liver, muscle and abdomen. In this talk, I will discuss the ethnic differences in body fat distribution and highlight their effects on metabolic health.