A type of fat accelerates aging and another delays it

A team of researchers from Medical Science Laboratory of London Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) has discovered that an excess of Visceral fat It is related to faster aging of the heart and blood vessels, which is a greater risk factor of heart disease.

The study, published in the magazine European Heart Journalhas found that the fat found in the depth of the abdomen and around organs such as stomach, intestines and liver, that it is not visible from abroad and that some people can have it in large quantities despite having a healthy weight, it is associated with this aging.

“Our research shows that ‘bad’ fat, hidden in the depths of the organs, accelerates the aging of the heart. However, some types of fat could protect against aging, specifically the fat around the hips and thighs in women, “explained the leader of the investigation and member of the MRC Medical Sciences Laboratory and the Imperial College of London, Declan O’Regan.

Researchers have also found differences between men and women, discovering that accumulated fat around Hips and thighs It could potentially delay the aging of the heart in womenwhile the typical accumulation in men, which occurs particularly in the abdomen, can be a premature aging of the heart in men.

“We also show that the body mass index (BMI) was not a good way to predict the age of the heart, which underlines the importance of knowing where fat is stored in the body and not just the total body weight,” he added.

Because hidden fat can be harmful even in people in form and that they perform physical activity, O’Regan has indicated that in the future it plans to investigate how pharmacological therapies, such as GLP-1 inhibitors such as’Ozempic‘, they can improve not only diabetes and obesity, but also address the effects of aging fat.

“We already know that excess visceral fat around the heart and liver can cause an increase in blood pressure and high cholesterol, so it is worrying that it can also help accelerate the aging of the heart and blood vessels,” explained the scientific and medical director of the British Heart Foundation, Bryan Williams.

In the investigation, indicators have also been found that visceral fat is related to greater inflammation of the body, which is also a “potential cause” of premature aging.

They have also been able to link high levels of estrogen in menopausal women with a slowdown in cardiac aging, which could indicate a role of hormones in protection against cardiac aging.

“Since the fat distribution pattern that is typically observed in women’s body is linked to estrogen, This hormone can be key to future therapies Developed to address cardiac aging (…) Eating a healthier diet and being more active can help reduce visceral fat levels, “Williams added.

The research has been based on the data of 21,241 participants in the Biobanco in the United Kingdom, which includes images of the entire body to map the amount of fat and where it is in the body, including detailed images of the heart and blood vessels.

These images have been analyzed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) To capture signs such as the stiffness and inflammation of the tissues, assigning based on it a ‘cardiac age’ that was later compared to the real age of the patient at the time of exploration. The study has been funded by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and the National Institute for Health Research and Care of the Biomedical Research Center of Imperial College Britanic.