Researchers already know that excess body fat can increase the risk of diabetes, but a new study shows that one form of fat, in particular — the “invisible” one that accumulates around organs and intestines — can heighten this risk more than seven times, at least in women.

Share on Pinterest The fat that accumulates around the organs is a hidden risk factor for diabetes, especially in women.

Though excess body fat is a known risk for many metabolic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, recent research has been gathering evidence to show that the amount of body fat is not the only factor that contributes to risk.

A study that Medical News Today covered last year explained that doctors might do well to assess where fat accumulates around the body, and not just how much there is, to understand a person’s risk of diabetes.

Now, research from Uppsala University in Sweden has found that the fat that accumulates around the organs and intestines — called visceral fat — is a crucial factor that raises the risk of type 2 diabetes, particularly in women.

The team — co-led by Torgny Karlsson, Ph.D. — studied the data of 325,153 individuals, which they accessed through the UK Biobank.

Visceral fat is “invisible,” and it can be difficult to find out how much a person’s body has stored. To do so, specialists must conduct expensive tests, such as MRI and CT scans or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Yet, in their study — the results of which appear in Nature Medicine — the researchers developed an easier, more cost-efficient method of estimating body fat that allowed them to then conduct further analyses, establishing how this form of fat contributed to health risks.