Visceral Fat Removal Extends Lifespan

Theoretically, visceral fat is thought to be responsible, or at least a contributing factor, for multiple disease processes including heart disease, insulin resistant diabetes, and cancer.

Not sure how good the DEXA visceral fat mass estimate is. My visceral adipose tissue was recently reported via DEXA as 471g. But I had a previous DEXA scan done about three years ago , and back then the DEXA scan had reported my visceral adipose tissue at 1549g. But it seems totally unbelievable that my visceral fat mass would have decreased to about 1/3 of previous level, despite having gained fat, gotten older and become less fit/active during the intervening years -- and I also recently had elevated liver enzyme results in a blood test and had a NAFLD diagnosis confirmed by an ultrasound scan, which suggests I very likely still have way too much visceral fat (yet another reason I'm being more serious/disciplined about losing weight and doing more activity these days). So I take the visceral fat mass reported by DEXA with a grain of salt... I'll have another DEXA scan at the end of the year (when I should be down to my 'ideal' BMI) and again at the end of next year (when I can hopefully 'recomp' some of my fat mass into lean mass via consistent weight training while in maintenance mode post-diet), and it will be interesting to see what visceral adipose tissue readings the DEXA scan returns in future.

luckily i am in the same ball park with my VF as you... Because i started tracking the diet, one year ago, motivated by your work. I am still in the process of adjusting my feeding habits, but cronometer helped me to create a nutritional precious approach. Thank you very much! Since I studied physiologcal biology, I am starting coaching and hopefully be successful

I just want to know why my body seems to store fat mostly as visceral fat.

visceral fat is a huge problem

Another great video! And I'm not at all surprised at your low VF given your protocol and your very low overall fat percentage. It's funny, even though mine is also very low, my tummy still has somewhat of a curve. I kind of jokingly asked my doctor: So, if my visceral fat is so low, what the heck is all that in there (pointing to my belly)? She laughed and said: well, there's a whole lot of intestines! As a 56yo mother of two, I face what a lot of other women in my position do, namely, my stomach muscles aren't holding everything in well enough. It's frustrating, but at least I don't imagine it will negatively impact my chances for longevity. Still, more ab work is in my future!

Ever since I learned about the omentum and it's harmful secretions, I've wondered about the potential effects of removing it. This is fascinating!

Great video! Do you have the data/article about visceral fat in humans x age that you posted? I found it quite interesting. Thanks

Do you think cortisol increase V fat?

As we tend to come in different sizes it would have been more insightful to have reported visceral fat as a percentage of total body/fat mass, just a thought.

Whether it is worth trying to get it low may have more to do with which killers have you in their crosshairs. But we don't even know which ones are spurred on by visceral fat...if any. Removing the fat may actually remove a lot of stem cells that would be useful down the line. I suspect that visceral fat tends to correlate to some degree with fat in the liver. And it is fat in the liver that is very bad, or is very bad beyond some level. "But!! The rats!!!" You say. Well, there are a hundred possible reasons the rats with the fat removed, lived longer. The most obvious is that without the fat, they were colder. Lower body temperature extends life. The cooler air from the lungs would pull more heat from the other internal organs, without the fat to reduce that heat loss. This is why calorie restriction works as well. Less calories, less heat, lower temperature, less random destructive reactions. Why do you think naked mole rats live so long? They gave up thermal regulation, that is why they don't need hair anymore. They are coldblooded...like the reptiles that live so long. If the hair is not holding in the heat, it is just making a home for fleas, and lice. Bowhead whales live long because they have a lower body temperature than other whales. Deep sea Greenland creatures? Very cold water. Below freezing. Metformin? Slows metabolism and makes them cooler. Berberine? Same thing. Rapamycin? Yep. Cools body temp. Almost everything that extends rodent lives does so by lowering temperature. Even stuff that brings down inflammation. Inflammation heats you up. When it is chronic...undesirable reactions accelerate. High glucose increases temperature. Iron can too. Both are scary for aging.

QUESTION. In the presentation you recommend keeping VF "relatively low' yet your data is in absolute terms. What would be the target VF as a percentage of total body weight

Great video as usual mike! is there any other way besides dexa to measure visceral fat at a lower cost and hence more frequently? what about bio impedance scales, are they accurate at all?

Great video _ to the point yet very well explained. Just a by the by comment _ my understanding is that while fat "extraction" procedures for humans are generally a good idea the problem those present is for the people who do not change their lifestyle (eating/exercise habits). Once you have (completely) removed a significant amount of fat you also lose your "capacity to store fat" too. Meaning when the same person gains the fat it will be dangerously distributed in places that have fat cells to shove the fat in.

Fascinating! It never occurred to me that someone would have tested this. Would love to see a study testing visceral + subcutaneous fat removal. Would this effect be equivalent to CR?? Or does the subcutanous fraction not have any independent effects?

My DEXA results have no mention of VFM, but it shows the mass of android fat - same or not?

Interestingly, some recent studies suggested that being slightly overweight (and maybe also having moderate visceral fat mass) at later ages can have some protective effects against dementia risk in some people, while other studies have shown an opposite effect. Perhaps it's just one of those U-shaped relationships just like in many other physiological processes, or it might be due to chance, or more likely confounders, such as (in)adequate sleep, cognitive stimulation, social (dis)engagement, protection of the retina from UV light, and so on.

Can humans have VF surgically removed? Liposuction only works on subcutaneous fat.

Is it as simple as keeping one's body fat percentage low, and that will typically mean visceral fat stays low. Or is it more complex, and if so, perhaps that can be the topic for another video>

Interesting coincidence. I recently started eating macadamia nuts and noticed improvements in cognition - and have been wondering about possible mechanisms. Palmitoleic acid might counteract some of the effects of palmitic acid; circulating levels of both increase with increasing visceral fat (VF is associated with poor cognition). Of course, I have to be careful about not increasing total calories. My BMI is low, but I don't know how much visceral fat I have. I had an abdominal CT for kidney stones and it covered my whole abdomen. Does anyone know if that would show visceral fat (if I could somehow get access to the images)?