Facial fat and its relationship to abdominal fat: a marker for insulin resistance?

Reports of relationships between measures of insulin sensitivity and measures of body fat and fat distribution suggest that abdominal fat accumulation is a predictor of insulin resistance. It has been previously suggested that facial fat (primarily in the cheeks and neck) is strongly associated with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical hypotheses 2004, Vol.63 (5), p.783-786
Main Authors: Sierra-Johnson, Justo, Johnson, Bruce D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abdomen - physiopathology
Adipose Tissue - physiopathology
Biomarkers
Body Constitution
Body Mass Index
Clinical Trials as Topic
Disease Susceptibility - diagnosis
Disease Susceptibility - physiopathology
Evidence-Based Medicine
Face - physiopathology
Humans
Insulin Resistance
Metabolic Syndrome - diagnosis
Metabolic Syndrome - physiopathology
Models, Biological
Obesity - physiopathology
Statistics as Topic
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Summary:Reports of relationships between measures of insulin sensitivity and measures of body fat and fat distribution suggest that abdominal fat accumulation is a predictor of insulin resistance. It has been previously suggested that facial fat (primarily in the cheeks and neck) is strongly associated with visceral abdominal fat accumulation. The facial fat is a rich vascular region, that seems to be metabolically active and resembles abdominal white adipose tissue. We, therefore, hypothesize that facial fat could be a good predictor of insulin resistance. Whether facial fat can be used as an accurate marker for insulin resistance remains to be determined.
ISSN:0306-9877
1532-2777
DOI:10.1016/j.mehy.2004.06.020