Recent progress of abdominal obesity

Abdominal obesity, as the most important feature of metabolic syndrome, has received much attention in recent years. More recently, ectopic fat deposition hypothesis has proposed that abdominal subcutaneous adipose which was thought to be protective, as well as visceral adipose, plays a crucial role in promoting the formation process of insulin resistance. And abdominal subcutaneous adipose is an important metabolic risk factor of cardiovascular disease. Thus the increase of waist circumference should be focused on no matter whether it is caused by abdominal subcutaneous or visceral adipose accumulation. And the new hypothesis further supports waist circumference as the diagnostic criteria for obesity in the working definition of metabolic syndrome. Lifestyle interventions are still the basis for the treatment of abdominal obesity, while humoral factors, gastrointestinal hormones, and brown fat provide new therapeutic directions. Key words: Abdominal obesity;  Metabolic syndrome;  Visceral adipose;  Abdominal subcutaneous adipose;  Insulin resistance