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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1524389
This article is part of the Research Topic Holistic Approaches to Understanding Obesity and Metabolic Diseases in Urban Environments View all 4 articles

Different Factors Modulate Visceral and Subcutaneous Fat Accumulation in Adults: A single-center study in Brazil

Provisionally accepted
CAMILA CHAGAS CAMILA CHAGAS 1*Nadja Fernandes da Silva Nadja Fernandes da Silva 1Gabriela Maria Pereira Floro Arcoverde Gabriela Maria Pereira Floro Arcoverde 2ISA GALVAO RODRIGUES ISA GALVAO RODRIGUES 2Victoria Domingues Ferraz Victoria Domingues Ferraz 1Cláudia PORTO SABINO PINHO Cláudia PORTO SABINO PINHO 2,3*Dário Celestino Sobral Filho Dário Celestino Sobral Filho 2Alcides da Silva Diniz Alcides da Silva Diniz 1Poliana Coelho Cabral Poliana Coelho Cabral Poliana Coelho Cabral Poliana Coelho Cabral Poliana Coelho Cabral Poliana Coelho Cabral 1Ilma Kruze Grande de Arruda Ilma Kruze Grande de Arruda 1
  • 1 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, recife, Brazil
  • 2 Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
  • 3 Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Abdominal adipose tissue consists of visceral and subcutaneous fat deposits, each with unique metabolic and functional properties. Identifying the characteristics that influence different obesity phenotypes can support targeted prevention and intervention strategies.To identify predictive factors associated with visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue accumulation.This is a cross-sectional study including adults of both sexes aged ≥20 years under outpatient care in a public healthcare service in Northeast Brazil. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT)were measured via ultrasound. Anthropometric, clinical, sociodemographic, and behavioral variables were incorporated into the predictive model.A total of 347 individuals were included. They were median age of 47.0 years (interquartile range: 39.0 to 56.0). Visceral obesity was found in 79.3% of the sample. Adjusted analysis demonstrated that physical inactivity (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.1-4.7; p = 0.023) and elevated waist circumference (WC) (OR 6.4; 95% CI 2.6-15.8 p <0.001) were associated with VAT accumulation. Alcohol consumption increased the likelihood of SAT accumulation by 2.2 times (95% CI 1.3-3.7; p = 0.005), while elevated WC raised this likelihood by 4.5 times (95% CI 2.1-9.8; p <0.001). The VAT/SAT ratio was significantly higher in older adults (OR 5.5; 95%CI 2.0-14.8; p = 0.001), among individuals of mixed race or black, those with lower educational levels (OR 2.4; 95%CI 1.1-5.2; p = 0.028), and in diabetics (OR 2.4; 95%CI 1.2-4.9; p = 0.017).Distinct factors influence visceral and subcutaneous obesity. Sedentary behavior emerged as an independent predictor of visceral obesity, while alcohol consumption was associated with a subcutaneous obesity pattern.Diabetes and sociodemographic factors (older age, non-White race, and lower education) were predictive of an elevated VAT/SAT ratio.

    Keywords: Abdominal Fat, Subcutaneous Fat, Body Fat Distribution, obesity, body composition, Obesity

    Received: 07 Nov 2024; Accepted: 14 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 CHAGAS, da Silva, Arcoverde, RODRIGUES, Ferraz, PORTO SABINO PINHO, Sobral Filho, Diniz, Poliana Coelho Cabral and de Arruda. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    CAMILA CHAGAS, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, recife, Brazil
    Cláudia PORTO SABINO PINHO, Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, 50100-010, Pernambuco, Brazil

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