The Concept of Metabolic Syndrome: Contribution of Visceral Fat Accumulation and Its Molecular Mechanism

Although abdominal obesity or visceral obesity is considered to be one of the components of metabolic syndrome and to have an important role in a cluster of cardiovascular risks, there is no consensus about the definition and diagnostic criteria for this syndrome, probably because there is considerable disagreement about the location and definition of abdominal obesity or visceral obesity. In this review article, the important role of visceral fat accumulation in the development of a variety of lifestyle-related diseases is shown, including cardiovascular disease based on our clinical studies using CT scans, and the mechanism of these disorders is discussed, focusing on adipocytokines, especially adiponectin. The importance of diagnosing metabolic syndrome, in which visceral fat accumulation plays an essential role in the development of multiple risk factors, should be emphasized because lifestyle modification for the reduction of visceral fat may be very effective for the reduction of risks of this type, namely metabolic syndrome in the narrow sense.