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Assessing the Cardiometabolic Risk of Obesity: Importance of Visceral/Ectopic Fat and of the Use of Hypertriglyceridemic Waist

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Controversies in Obesity

Abstract

Obesity is a heterogeneous condition. CT/MR imaging and cardiometabolic studies have shown that excess visceral adiposity/ectopic fat defines a high-risk form of overweight/obesity. As visceral obesity cannot be identified by the body mass index, there was a need to develop a simple screening tool to identify individuals with excess visceral adiposity/ectopic fat. Elevated waist circumference and plasma triglyceride levels, a phenotype that has been described as “hypertriglyceridemic waist,” defines a subgroup of patients with a high probability of being characterized by excess levels of visceral adipose tissue/ectopic fat and at increased cardiometabolic risk.

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Acknowledgments

 Dr. Després is the Scientific Director of the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk based at Université Laval. His work has been supported by research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and the Foundation of the Québec Heart and Lung Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology, Université Laval, Québec Heart and Lung Institute, 2725, chemin Sainte-Foy, Pavilion Marguerite-D’Youville, Y4146, Québec City, Québec, G1V 4G5, Canada

    Jean-Pierre Després PhD

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  1. Jean-Pierre Després PhD
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Correspondence to Jean-Pierre Després PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Watton Place Clinic, Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

    David W. Haslam

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Arya M. Sharma

  3. Department of Pathology, Diabetes Complications Research Centre, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Carel W. le Roux

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Després, JP. (2014). Assessing the Cardiometabolic Risk of Obesity: Importance of Visceral/Ectopic Fat and of the Use of Hypertriglyceridemic Waist. In: Haslam, D., Sharma, A., le Roux, C. (eds) Controversies in Obesity. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2834-2_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2834-2_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-2833-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-2834-2

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