Visceral vs Subcutaneous Fat: Health Risks & Reduction Tips

Visceral and subcutaneous fat are two distinct types of body fat that have different locations, functions, and health impacts. While both play important roles in protecting the body, excess amounts of either can lead to serious health conditions. Continue reading to better understand the differences between these fats and to understand how to manage your overall health and prevent chronic diseases.

Visceral Fat vs Subcutaneous Fat 

What is Visceral Fat?  

Visceral fat is fat that surrounds your internal organs, including the liver, stomach, and intestines. Sometimes referred to as intra-abdominal fat, active fat, toxic fat, or visceral adipose tissue, visceral fat is present underneath the abdominal muscles. Visceral fat is stored in the greater omentum, a flap-like special connective tissue that covers the intestines. Visceral fat accounts for approximately 10% of total body fat. 

While some visceral fat is necessary to protect internal organs, too much is dangerous and is linked to chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

What is Subcutaneous Fat?  

Subcutaneous fat is the fat that lies just below the skin. It tends to collect in the hips, buttocks, thighs, and belly. If you pinch the skin of your abdomen, the soft fat you feel is subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat, also known as adipose tissue, accounts for 90% of total body fat. 

Subcutaneous fat lies underneath the dermis or middle layer of skin. Its primary functions are to protect muscles, bones, blood vessels, and nerves while also contributing to body temperature regulation. If too much subcutaneous fat is present, the risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke is higher.

Location and Function

Are Love Handles Visceral or Subcutaneous?

Love handles are a type of subcutaneous fat which is fat stored under the skin’s surface. Visceral belly fat is fat that surrounds internal organs in the abdominal cavity. 

Which Is Worse: Visceral or Subcutaneous Fat?

Visceral fat is considered more dangerous than subcutaneous fat because it produces harmful substances and releases hormones that can be harmful to the body. 

Why Visceral Fat Poses More Serious Health Risks

While subcutaneous fat produces more molecules that are beneficial for the body, visceral fat produces proteins that cause inflammation, which affects energy metabolism and fat storage. Research shows that too much visceral fat can increase the activity of a specific protein called TRIP-Br2. This leads to higher levels of molecules called cytokines, which promote inflammation. 

Chronic inflammation can damage blood vessels, causing plaque build-up. This plaque can break off and block blood flow, potentially causing a heart attack or stroke.

Visceral fat also activates a system in the body called the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which controls blood pressure. When RAS is activated, blood vessels constrict, raising blood pressure. The combination of ongoing inflammation and high blood pressure significantly raises the risk of heart disease and stroke.

There is a strong association with visceral fat, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance. There can be an increased risk of death, even in people with a normal body mass index (BMI). 

Diseases Associated With Visceral Fat  

Too much visceral fat is linked to an increased risk of many health conditions, including:

• Metabolic syndrome — a group of conditions including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and increased waist measurement (belly fat). These conditions increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. 

• Fatty liver disease.

• Gallbladder disease.

• Kidney disease.

• Gout.

• Osteoarthritis.

• Low back pain.

• Sleep apnea.

• Asthma.

• Dementia.

• Cancer

• Fertility problems.

Health Risks of Subcutaneous Fat  

While subcutaneous fat is important for normal body function, too much puts you at risk of health problems such as:

• Type 2 diabetes

• Cardiovascular disease

• Stroke

• Certain cancers, including colorectal cancer

• Fatty liver disease

• Kidney disease

• Sleep apnea

Common Misconceptions About Subcutaneous vs Visceral Fat

Myth: Obesity is genetic. You can’t do anything about it.

Fact: Excess body weight occurs due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While genes do affect hunger, appetite, resting metabolic rate, and fat storage, lifestyle choices are the primary contributors to the development of obesity.

Myth: Increased subcutaneous fat is healthy, and increased visceral fat is unhealthy.

Fact: Both visceral and subcutaneous fat have important roles in body functions, including the protection of organs. However, excessive amounts of both subcutaneous and visceral fat increase your risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Myth: A large amount of weight loss is required for health benefits.

Fact: Losing just 2.5 to 5% of your body weight can lead to improved insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, decreased fat content in the liver, reduced  cholesterol levels, and improved  infertility.

Myth: Low-fat diets are the best way to reduce body fat.

Fact: The Mediterranean diet, which includes healthy fats, has the largest amount of evidence demonstrating long-term health benefits.

Myth: You can’t prevent visceral fat.

Fact: You can prevent excessive visceral fat by eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise. 

How Do You Get Rid of Visceral Fat vs Subcutaneous Fat?

The best way to reduce visceral fat and subcutaneous fat is by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, which includes a healthy diet and regular exercise program, good sleep habits, and prioritizing stress management. 

What Burns The Most Visceral Fat?  

Dietary Changes 

The best way to reduce visceral fat is through diet and exercise. Eat a healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy, and healthy fats. Avoid or limit saturated fats, trans fats, partially hydrogenated oils, refined sugars, foods sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, salty snacks, and ultra-processed foods. 

Low-carbohydrate diets such as the ketogenic diet or “keto” diet burn the most visceral fat by training your body to use fat as an energy source instead of carbohydrates. 

Eating patterns such as intermittent fasting (IF) can also help you lose weight and excess fat. Intermittent fasting involves a 14 to 16-consecutive-hour period of not eating in a 24-hour period. It can be an effective strategy for controlling how much visceral fat your body stores.

Exercise  

Regular physical activity can help to reduce visceral fat. The recommended goal is 150 minutes of exercise per week (30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week). This should include both cardio and strength training. Workouts such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that require bursts of intense effort can help to burn fat faster.

Additional Tips

Get enough good quality sleep: Sleep deprivation or poor quality sleep can lead to increased visceral fat. Experts recommend 7 to 9 hours of restful sleep nightly. 

Manage stress: Chronic stress activates a hormone known as cortisol, which also leads to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. A chronic state of stress leads to chronic inflammation, which encourages the storage of visceral fat. Yoga, tai-chi, guided meditation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation can help to lower stress levels.

Limit alcohol intake: Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol is linked to the storage of too much visceral fat in the body. 

What Strategies Reduce Subcutaneous Fat?  

Balanced Nutrition

Healthy eating can help you lose subcutaneous fat. A fat-burning diet and exercise plan will ensure that you burn more calories than you consume. Focus on eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, low-fat dairy, nuts and seeds. Avoid or limit sugary and salty foods, processed foods, and red meat. Both protein and fiber help you to feel full for longer. 

Cardio and Strength Training 

Exercise helps you burn calories (energy) stored in subcutaneous fat. Include both aerobic exercises and strength training in your exercise program. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, which consist of intense activity followed by short recovery, are especially effective at reducing belly fat. 

GLP-1 Drugs

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1) drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) are becoming increasingly popular as weight loss drugs. These injectable medications can help you lose weight in conjunction with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Talk to your healthcare provider to determine if you qualify.

Additional Tips

• Get enough sleep. Avoid eating high-carbohydrate, high-calorie foods close to bedtime. 

• Manage stress to prevent activation of the cortisol hormone, which tells the body to store fat.

Bariatric Surgery and Liposuction

Bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) is an option when lifestyle measures like diet and exercise have not been successful in individuals with severe obesity (BMI 40 or higher). However, surgery carries the risk of complications and requires ongoing follow-up and lifelong dietary restrictions to maintain a healthy weight. 

Liposuction is a cosmetic procedure that uses surgical suction techniques to remove body fat from specific problem areas such as the stomach, thighs, buttocks, and upper arms. It is also called body contouring or lipoplasty.

Keep in mind that liposuction is not a substitute for a healthy diet and exercise plan. However, liposuction may help in refining your body shape if you have stubborn fat distribution in specific areas but an otherwise stable and healthy body weight.

Measuring Your Visceral Fat vs Subcutaneous Fat Levels  

The best way to accurately measure visceral fat (fat around internal organs) versus subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin) is through medical imaging techniques such as a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. These tests can distinguish between visceral fat vs subcutaneous fat by creating detailed images of your abdominal area. A healthcare professional can analyze the scans to calculate the volume of each type of fat. 

How To Track Visceral Fat and Subcutaneous Fat Changes  

Body Mass Index (BMI)

One way of tracking subcutaneous fat and visceral fat is to measure your body mass index (BMI), which is your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters squared:

• BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is a healthy weight

• BMI of 25 to 29.9 is overweight

• BMI of 30 or higher is obese

Waist Circumference

Another way to measure excess subcutaneous fat or visceral fat is to use a tape measure to check your waist circumference. Experts say a waist size above 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women is linked to a higher risk of obesity-related conditions.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR)

Studies suggest that your waist-to-hip ratio may be a better predictor of health outcomes than BMI. Your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is the circumference of your waist divided by the circumference at your hips. A waist-to-hip size below 0.90 in men and below 0.85 in women is considered healthy.

Waist-Height Ratio

Waist-height ratio is your waist in inches divided by your height in inches. A ratio of 0.5 or lower is considered healthy in both men and women.

When To Consult A Healthcare Professional

Consult a healthcare professional if lifestyle changes such as a balanced diet and increased exercise have not resulted in less body fat. As mentioned, too much fat and abdominal obesity are cardiometabolic risk factors with associated health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Your healthcare provider can track how much fat you are storing and recommend lifestyle modifications or weight loss drugs if appropriate.