Serum Triglyceride Levels Independently Contribute to the Estimation of Visceral Fat Amount Among Nondiabetic Obese Adults

Determining the visceral fat amount is important in the risk stratification for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and obesity-related disorders. The area-based measurement of visceral fat area (VFA) via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an accurate but expensive and time-consuming method for estimating visceral fat amount. The aim of our study was to identify a practical predictive parameter for visceral obesity in clinical settings. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 51 nondiabetic obese (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 27 kg/m²) adults in Taiwan (21 men and 30 women, mean age 35.6 ± 9.2 years, mean BMI 33.3 ± 3.9 kg/m²). VFA was quantified by a single-slice MRI image. Anthropometric indices and biochemical parameters including fasting plasma glucose, serum level of alanine aminotransferase, and lipid profiles were measured. The associations between different variables and VFA were analyzed by linear regression analysis. Increases in BMI, waist circumference, serum levels of alanine aminotransferase and triglycerides (TGs), and decreased serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were correlated with larger VFA. After adjustment for age, sex, and anthropometric indices, only serum TG level remained as an independent correlate of VFA. Besides demographic and anthropometric indices, adding TG level may explain a greater variance of VFA. In stepwise multivariate regression analysis, male sex, age, waist circumference, and serum TG level remained significant predictors of VFA. In a subgroup analysis among subjects with BMI ≥30 kg/m², similar results were demonstrated and serum TG level remained as significant independent correlates of VFA in all of the predictive models. Among nondiabetic obese adults, serum TG level was positively associated with VFA. The combination of sex, age, anthropometric indices, and serum TG level may be used to estimate VFA in clinical settings.