Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Globally, more than one billion adults are overweight (BMI≥25 kg/m2). At least 300 million are obese (BMI≥30 kg/m2). Visceral fat (VF) is a risk factor for multiple CVD risk factors, including endothelial dysfunction, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome (MetS), liver insulin resistance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, increased predisposition to cancers of the colon, breast and prostate, and it is associated with prolonged hospital stays,increased incidence of infections and non-infectious complications, and increased mortality in hospital. Age, gender, genetics, and ethnicity are factors contributing to variation in visceral adipose tissue accumulation. Specific mechanisms responsible for proportionally increased visceral fat storage may involve sex hormones, local cortisol production in abdominal adipose tissues, dietary fructose endocannabinoids and growth hormone.