Reference Values for DXA-Derived Visceral Adipose Tissue in Adults 40 Years and Older from a European Population: The Tromsø Study 2015-2016

Publication: Journal of Obesity

Marie W. Lundblad, Bjarne K. Jacobsen, Jonas Johansson, Emanuella De Lucia Rolfe, Sameline Grimsgaard, and Laila A. Hopstock

17 May 2021


Summary

Reference values for visceral adipose tissue (VAT) are needed and it has been advocated that body composition measures depend on both the technique and methods applied, as well as the population of interest.

We aimed to develop reference values for VAT in absolute grams (VATg), percent (VAT%), and as a kilogram-per-meters-squared index (VATindex) for women and men, and investigate potential differences between these measures and their associations with cardiometabolic risk factors (including metabolic syndrome (MetS).

These VAT reference values and thresholds, developed in a sample of adults of Norwegian origin, could be applied to other studies with similar populations using the same DXA device and protocols. The associations between VAT and cardiometabolic risk factors were similar across different measurement units of VAT.

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