‘Hidden’ body fat linked to faster heart ageing

The heart may age faster in people who carry excessive amounts of fat around their organs, a study suggests.

Visceral fat – hidden deep in the body around the stomach, intestines and liver – has been linked to increased inflammation, and can even be carried by those who are fit and maintain a healthy weight.

However, some body fat, including around the hips and thighs in women, could protect against heart ageing.

Researchers suggest that knowing where fat is stored in the body is more important than total body weight when it comes to predicting heart age.

For the study, led by the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Medical Sciences in London, experts looked at UK Biobank data from 21,241 people, including whole body imaging mapping fat and where it is located in the body.

Artificial intelligence was then used to analyse the images and detect signs of organ ageing, which includes stiff and inflamed tissue.

Each person was given a heart age, which was compared to their actual age at the time of the scan.

Researchers found hearts aged faster in people with more visceral fat.

Meanwhile, ageing between male and female body types also differed.

Those who were apple-shaped – with more fat around the stomach – was linked to early heart ageing in men.

However, fat on the hips and thighs – often known as pear shaped – was found to protect against heart ageing in women.

This protective effect was also found in pre-menopausal women, which researchers linked to higher levels of oestrogen, the hormone primarily produced by the ovaries.

Professor Declan O’Regan, who led the research at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences and Imperial College London, and is the British Heart Foundation (BHF) professor of cardiovascular AI, said: “We have known about the apple and pear distinction in body fat, but it hasn’t been clear how it leads to poor health outcomes.

“Our research shows that ‘bad’ fat, hidden deep around the organs, accelerates ageing of the heart.

“But some types of fat could protect against ageing – specifically fat around the hips and thighs in women.”

Prof O’Regan suggested body mass index (BMI) may not be a good way of predicting heart age, and that knowing where fat is stored in the body, rather than total body weight, is important.

He also said the team is planning to explore the impact of weight loss jabs on visceral fat.

“The goal of our research is to find ways to increase healthy lifespan,” Prof O’Regan added.

“While being active is important, we found that hidden fat could still be harmful even in fit people.

“In the future we plan to investigate how drug therapies, such as GLP-1 inhibitors could improve not just diabetes and obesity, but target the ageing effects of hidden visceral fat.”

Prof Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the BHF, which funded the study along with the MRC and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Imperial College Biomedical Research Centre, said: “We already know excess visceral fat around the heart and liver can lead to increased blood pressure and high cholesterol, so it is concerning that it could also help to speed up ageing of the heart and blood vessels.

“As the pattern of fat distribution typically seen in women’s bodies is linked to oestrogen, that hormone may be key to future therapies developed to tackle heart ageing.

“Eating a healthier diet and becoming more active can help to reduce visceral fat levels.”