ABSTRACT
The global obesity epidemic is associated with an array of cardiometabolic perturbations and increased risk of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes (T2D), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and various cancers. Specically, excess intra-abdominal fat accumulation (visceral obesity) is believed to be more important than total body fat in predicting morbidities traditionally associated with obesity, and various factors (e.g., age, gender, physical activity/tness, hormones, and ethnicity/genetics) are believed to inuence depot-specic adipose tissue distribution [1]. Visceral obesity contributes to the chronic low-grade inammation that plays a causative role in obesity-induced insulin resistance and the pathophysiology of obesity-associated diseases [2].
