Blood Test for Deep Belly Fat
Deep belly fat is widely reported to be associated with increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. Consequently, researchers are trying to develop practical ways to identify which high BMI patients carry lots of deep belly fat, and which store there fat directly under their skin (or which are simply muscular.)
A variety of methods have been used — including waist measurement and various more expensive methods. However, recently, researchers identified a blood test to test for belly fat. Dr. Barbara B. Kahn, chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston and her collea gues the level of retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) in the blood is correlated the amount of bell fat a person carries.
Obese patients, and people with insulin resistance, or type 2 diabetes have also been found to have high levels of RBP4. So, even if this doesn’t indicate belly fat per se, it seem to indicate one is susceptible to diabetes.
To learn more, read the article at Cell Metabolism.
The correlation between fat and diabetes is really interesting to me. I have a friend with diabetes and she’s always careful about her weight.
Jim "Energy" Johnson (new comment) - October 1st, 2007 at 10:49 amYou know, I’ve heard this too - but I’m skeptical of the results. The doctors say that the level of RBP4 in the “blood is correlated the amount of bell fat a person carries” which is far different than causality. Of course, causality leads to new policies and interventions, not correlation. I’ve seen other good articles on diabetes, and health in general, at www.meddlinks.com - maybe they’ll have a story there (or we can submit one) about this correlation.
Dom (new comment) - October 5th, 2007 at 1:51 pmThat is really new information for me. I didn’t know things can happen like this.
health watch (new comment) - March 12th, 2008 at 8:56 amThe correlation between deep belly fat and diabetes is new to me as well. Would it be proper to consider diets or weight loss plans that focus on reducing belly fat as a means for reducing diabeties?
There is a weight loss program that is aimed at reducing belly fat thru a well rounded approach of diet, exercise, and increasing muscle mass to increase metabolism. It’s called BurnFat4Dummies.
BurnFat4Dummies is a comprehensive approach that does not rely on simply reducing caloric intake, like other weight loss programs, but is designed to convert fat into muscle. By increasing your metabolic rate, thiis approach improves your chance of keeping the weight off permanantly.
For more info on this weigh loss program, go to http://tinyurl.com/5svyw9
ronb107 (new comment) - August 5th, 2008 at 7:29 amHello Boys & Girls, like the Deisgn of this Page. Pretty Nice.
Jude (new comment) - September 4th, 2008 at 2:14 amGreat article. Very interesting information. Thanks for the info !
Prue (new comment) - November 26th, 2008 at 8:35 pm