In this review, titled “Visceral adiposity, metabolic health and aging,” the authors critically evaluate whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT), commonly known as visceral fat, is simply a correlate of aging or whether it plays a direct, causal role in driving age-related metabolic decline and systemic aging processes. The authors conclude that VAT is not inherently harmful, but becomes pathogenic in specific contexts, such as lipid overflow coupled with impaired preadipocyte differentiation capacity, a pro-inflammatory milieu, and hormonal dysregulation. They further outline the key mechanisms linking pathogenic VAT to metabolic dysfunction and aging and discuss emerging strategies to target VAT to promote healthy aging.
Laurence Maeyens is a Biology of Aging PhD student, co-mentored in the labs of James F. Nelson, PhD, and Shangang Zhao, PhD. Dr. Nelson is a Professor with the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology. Dr. Zhao is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology. Drs. Nelson and Zhao are Principal Investigators with the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies.
Read the full paper in Nature Aging.