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Central Adiposity

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

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Synonyms

Abdominal obesity; Apple shaped; Visceral adiposity

Definition

Central adiposity is the accumulation of fat in the lower torso around the abdominal area. Central adiposity is a function of both subcutaneous fat, which sits under the skin, and visceral fat, which surrounds the internal organs in the peritoneal cavity. Currently, it would seem that the toxic component of central adiposity is the visceral fat.

High levels of central adiposity have been associated with an increased risk of a number of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and dementia. Of note, it would seem that central adiposity is independent of body mass index (a proxy of total adiposity) as a predictor of disease (even though the two are highly correlated). This increased risk is thought to be due to the hormonal action of visceral fat, which actively excretes adipokines, most of which impair glucose tolerance. Central adiposity is generally a function of visceral (or...

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References and Further Reading

  • Lee, C., Huxley, R., Wildman, R., & Woodward, M. (2008). Indices of abdominal obesity are better discriminators of cardiovascular risk factors than BMI: A meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 61(7), 646–653.

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  • Misra, A., & Vikram, N. K. (2003). Clinical and pathophysiological consequences of abdominal adiposity and abdominal adipose tissue depots. Nutrition, 19(5), 457–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, J., Bacon, S. L., Morais, J. A., Tsoukas, M. A., & Santosa, S. (2019). Intra-abdominal adipose tissue quantification by alternative versus reference methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity, 27, 1115–1122.

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  • Rexrode, K. M., Carey, V. J., Hennekens, C. H., Walters, E. E., Colditz, G. A., Stampfer, M. J., Willett, W. C., & Manson, J. E. (1998). Abdominal adiposity and coronary heart disease in women. JAMA, 280(21), 1843–1848.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University and Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’île-de-Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Simon L. Bacon

Authors
  1. Simon L. Bacon
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Correspondence to Simon L. Bacon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

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Bacon, S.L. (2020). Central Adiposity. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1108-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1108-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

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