When most people think about body fat, they think about the fat they can see — around the stomach, hips, thighs or arms.
But not all body fat is the same.
One of the most important measurements I look at with my clients is visceral fat, because it tells us something that your weight — and even your body fat percentage — cannot tell us on its own.
What Is Body Fat?
Body fat is a normal and necessary part of the body. It helps store energy, protect organs, regulate temperature and support many important functions.
The fat most people notice is called subcutaneous fat. This is the fat located underneath the skin — the type you can usually pinch around your abdomen, hips, thighs or arms.
Having some body fat is completely normal. What matters is how much you have, where it is stored and how it relates to your muscle mass and overall body composition.
What Is Visceral Fat?
Visceral fat is different.
Instead of sitting directly underneath the skin, visceral fat is stored deeper inside the abdominal area, surrounding internal organs.
You cannot accurately determine how much visceral fat you have simply by looking in the mirror or stepping on a scale.
Someone can have a relatively normal body weight and still carry more visceral fat than expected. Another person may weigh more but have greater muscle mass and a very different body composition.
This is one of the reasons I tell my clients that weight alone never gives us the complete picture.
Why Does Visceral Fat Matter?
Visceral fat is an important health marker because higher levels have been associated with increased cardiometabolic risk.
That doesn’t mean one measurement defines your health. It means visceral fat is another useful piece of information we can consider along with muscle mass, overall body fat, nutrition, activity, medical history and other health markers.
And importantly, visceral fat can change.
Nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management and changes in overall body composition can all play a role.
Why Your Bathroom Scale Can’t Tell You This
Imagine two people who both weigh 150 pounds.
One may have more skeletal muscle and less body fat. The other may have less muscle and a higher percentage of body fat.
Their bathroom scales show exactly the same number, but their bodies are very different. This is why I brought the InBody 580 Body Composition Analyzer into my Westport practice.
Instead of focusing only on pounds lost, we can look at what’s actually changing inside the body.
What Does an InBody 580 Scan Measure?
An InBody 580 Body Composition Analysis provides information including:
- Body fat percentage
- Skeletal muscle mass
- Visceral fat
- Segmental muscle analysis
- Body water balance
- Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
For me, one of the greatest benefits is being able to follow these measurements over time.
If you’re trying to lose weight, I don’t want to see only whether the number on the scale went down.
I want to know: Are you losing body fat? Are you maintaining your muscle? Is your visceral fat changing? Those are much more meaningful questions.
This Is Especially Important During Weight Loss
One of the biggest mistakes people make during weight loss is focusing exclusively on losing pounds. The goal should not simply be to become lighter.
Ideally, we want to reduce excess body fat while protecting valuable muscle mass.
This is especially important for adults over 40 and for people using GLP-1 medications for weight management.
If the scale is going down but you’re also losing a significant amount of muscle, that’s something we want to identify and address through appropriate nutrition, protein intake, activity and other individualized recommendations.
What If My Visceral Fat Is High?
Don’t panic over a single number.
I use body composition information as a tool — not a judgment. Your results give us a starting point.
We can look at your visceral fat together with your body fat percentage, skeletal muscle mass, nutrition habits and personal goals and decide what areas deserve the most attention.
Then, when you repeat your scan, we can see whether your body composition is moving in the direction we want.
See What the Scale Can’t Show You
If you’ve been focusing only on your weight, it may be time to look deeper.
The InBody 580 Body Composition Analysis at The Reset Spot in Westport, CT can help you better understand your body fat, muscle mass, visceral fat and other important body-composition measurements.
Every first Body Composition Snapshot includes your InBody 580 scan, printed results and a private one-on-one review with me so that you understand what the numbers mean and what you can focus on next.
Ready to see what the scale can’t show you?
BOOK YOUR BODY COMPOSITION SNAPSHOT
The Reset Spot | Westport, Connecticut | 203-557-9777
Body composition analysis is an educational wellness tool and is not a diagnosis or substitute for medical care.