Losing weight & body composition: more than the scale

Two people with the same weight can have very different metabolic risks: depending on how the body fat is distributed. That’s why it’s worth looking beyond the scale.

Two types of fat, one important difference

Visceral fat lies deep in the abdomen between the organs. It’s metabolically active, releases pro-inflammatory messengers and is linked with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Subcutaneous fat lies directly under the skin. It’s less strongly linked with these metabolic risks, but not entirely without significance, because a high total body-fat percentage also affects health.

Waist circumference as a simple guide

Because visceral fat is hard to measure directly, waist circumference serves as a practical guide. The common thresholds come from the International Diabetes Federation and the WHO and apply to European population groups: in women a circumference from 80 cm counts as raised and from 88 cm as markedly raised, in men from 94 cm and from 102 cm.¹ For other ethnicities, partly lower, adjusted values apply.¹ Measure in the morning, standing, roughly at the level of the navel, without pulling in.

What weight loss can do

Even a moderate weight loss is linked in guidelines and studies with favourable metabolic effects, a range of about 5–7% of body weight is often cited, above which improvements appear at group level (e.g. in blood sugar and blood pressure).² Important: this is a statistical association from studies, not a guarantee of a specific individual risk reduction, how strong the effect is in a single person varies. It also helps that visceral belly fat is often reduced first during weight loss.

Article ID: SWF-W-001Please quote this ID for corrections or additions.