A new study has found that excessive amounts of visceral fat – the hidden fat that surrounds the organs – are linked to faster ageing of the heart.
Link Between Heart Ageing and Visceral Fat Tissue
Ageing is the biggest risk factor for heart disease, but why some people age faster than others is not yet fully understood. The scientists leading the research say that visceral body fat may play an important role in accelerating the aging of the heart and blood vessels. This type of fat is known to be harmful to health, and this study now links it to faster heart aging.
The study, conducted by scientists at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Medical Sciences in London, UK, also found differences between men and women and discovered that fat around the hips and thighs could potentially slow down heart ageing in women. In the study published in the European Heart Journal, the scientists analyzed data from 21,241 UK Biobank participants, including whole-body images, to assess the amount of fat and its distribution in the body. The UK Biobank data also includes detailed images of the heart and blood vessels. These images were analyzed using artificial intelligence to detect signs of organ aging – such as tissue hardening and inflammation. Each person was assigned a ‘heart age’ that can be compared with their actual age at the time of the examination.
The researchers found that faster heart ageing was associated with more visceral adipose tissue. Visceral adipose tissue is fat that lies deep in the abdomen around organs such as the stomach, intestines and liver. This type of fat is not visible from the outside, and some people can have large amounts of visceral fat despite having a healthy weight. The researchers found evidence in blood tests that visceral fat is linked to an increased tendency to inflammation in the body – which is a possible cause of premature ageing.
Some Types of Fat Could Protect Against Ageing
They also found differences between the sexes. Male fat distribution (fat around the abdomen, often referred to as “apple shape”) was particularly predictive of premature ageing in men. In contrast, a genetic predisposition to female fat distribution (fat around the hips and thighs, often referred to as “pear shape”) protected women from heart ageing. The researchers also found a link between higher estrogen levels in pre-menopausal women and a slowing of heart aging, which they believe may indicate that hormones play a role in protecting against heart aging.
Professor Declan O’Regan, who led the research at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences and Imperial College London and is Professor of Cardiovascular AI at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We have long known about the difference between apple and pear shape in body fat, but it has been unclear how this leads to poor health. Our research shows that ‘bad’ fat, hidden deep around the organs, accelerates heart ageing. But some types of fat could be protective against ageing – particularly fat around the hips and thighs in women.” The researchers also found that BMI is not a good indicator of heart age, which underlines how crucial it is to know where fat is stored in the body, rather than just looking at total body weight.
Key for Future Therapies
The goal of the research is to find ways to increase healthy life expectancy. Although it is important to be active, it has been shown that hidden fat can be harmful even in fit people. In the future, experts want to investigate how drug therapies such as GLP-1 inhibitors (e.g. Ozempic) can not only improve diabetes and obesity, but also combat the ageing effects of hidden visceral fat. This study was funded by the Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Imperial College Biomedical Research Centre.
Professor Bryan Williams OBE, Scientific and Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: “We already know that excess visceral fat around the heart and liver can lead to raised blood pressure and high cholesterol. So it is worrying that it could also contribute to accelerating the ageing of the heart and blood vessels. As the typical fat distribution pattern in women’s bodies is linked to oestrogen, this hormone could be the key to future therapies to combat heart ageing. A healthier diet and more exercise can help to reduce the amount of visceral fat.”