Visceral Fat Area Evaluation by Computed Tomography Correlates with Visceral Fat Volume

In Japan, the measurement of abdominal circumference is commonly used in diagnosis of visceral fat accumulation. It is also recommended that visceral fat at the umbilical level be measured using CT scans. If CT is used to measure the visceral fat area, we do not have to consider the possibility of measurement error due to subcutaneous fat. However, it is unknown whether the visceral fat area measurement by CT reflects the visceral fat volume of the entire abdomen.

We examined the correlation between the visceral fat area at the umbilical level and the visceral fat volume of the entire abdomen using CT images taken from the diaphragm to the pubic bone.

The results showed that there was a very high correlation between the visceral fat area and the visceral fat volume. The correlation was not affected by gender differences, old age or whether visceral fat was accumulated or not.

Therefore, we concluded that it is possible to estimate the visceral fat volume of the entire abdomen by measuring the visceral fat area at the umbilical level.