Not All Belly Fat Is Bad for the Heart July 21, 2011 -- A new
study shows that where a person stores body fat may be more
important for heart disease risk than how big they are. Doctors
have long wondered why some obese people appear reasonably
healthy, while others seem to be on a path toward heart disease
and type 2 diabetes. Fat that’s stored around the internal
organs, which is called visceral fat, has been thought to play a
role in that difference. Waist size is a rough measure for the
amount of visceral fat a person has. But newer studies have
suggested that visceral fat may not deserve the blame. Newer
imaging techniques have shown that fat that's stored in muscle
and organs like the liver may contribute to unhealthy levels of
blood fats, says Faidon Magkos, PhD, a research assistant
professor of medicine in the department of nutrition at
Washington University in St. Louis. Fat Storage in the Liver and
High Triglycerides The study looked at two groups of 14 obese
men with waist sizes over 37 inches.