Visceral fat is the fat stored deep inside your abdomen, wrapped around your vital organs. Unlike the fat under your skin, too much visceral fat can put you at risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and certain cancers.
The good news is that with the right lifestyle changes, and sometimes medical treatments, it’s possible to reduce it and protect your long-term health. In this guide, we’ll explain what visceral fat is, how to measure it, and the safest ways to lose it.
Three key takeaways
Visceral fat builds up deep in the abdomen and can affect long-term health.
You can reduce visceral fat through diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and sometimes medical treatment.
Measuring your visceral fat level helps you understand your risk and track your progress.
What causes visceral fat?
Visceral fat builds up when the calories you eat and drink aren’t balanced by the energy your body uses. Lifestyle factors, hormones, and genetics all play a role, which is why some people carry more abdominal fat than others, even at a healthy weight.
Common causes of visceral fat:
Poor diet: Eating lots of sugar, refined carbs, and processed foods encourages fat storage in the abdomen.
Lack of exercise: Being inactive makes it harder to burn excess energy, leading to fat gain.
High stress levels: Stress raises cortisol, a hormone linked with storing fat around the organs.
High alcohol intake: Alcohol is calorie-dense, and heavy drinking is linked with fat stored around your organs. Sticking to the NHS limit of 14 units a week (around six pints or six medium glasses of wine) is recommended.
Genetics and hormones: Your body shape, metabolism, and fat distribution are partly inherited.
Menopause: Hormonal changes can lead women to store more fat around the abdomen after menopause.
Where is visceral fat stored?
Visceral fat sits deep inside your abdomen, which is why you can't physically feel it the way you can the fat just under your skin.
It's stored around the:
stomach
intestines
liver
pancreas
How do you work out your visceral fat level?
There isn't a single, simple test you can do at home to measure visceral fat directly.
Doctors usually assess it through scans or by looking at your waist to hip ratio. Some home devices can give an estimate, but they're not always exact.
Method
How it works
Where can you get it?
DEXA scan
Uses low-dose X-rays to map where fat sits in your body.
Hospitals
MRI or CT scan
Detailed imaging that shows fat around your organs.
Hospitals
Smart scales and home monitors
Sends a small electrical current through your body (bioelectrical impedance) to estimate fat levels.
At home
Waist-to-hip ratio
You measure your waist and hips and compare the two.
At home, with a tape measure
DEXA, MRI, and CT scans
Because visceral fat sits deep within your body, the only way to measure it precisely is with a scan. These aren't routinely offered on the NHS for weight management, but you can access them privately.
DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry): A low-radiation scan originally designed to measure bone density. It uses two low-energy X-ray beams to separate bone, muscle, and fat, then estimates how much of your abdominal fat is visceral.
CT (computed tomography): A cross-sectional image of your abdomen shows visceral fat and the fat under your skin as separate areas, giving a direct measurement in cm².
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): Just as accurate as CT and uses magnets rather than radiation, making it suitable if you want to avoid radiation exposure.
Smart scales
Many smart scales and home body composition monitors provide a visceral fat rating. This is an estimate of how much fat is stored around your organs, based on how your body resists a small electrical current.
On most devices, a score between one and 12 is considered within a healthy range, while 13 or above suggests higher levels of visceral fat linked with increased health risks.
These scores can be useful for tracking changes over time, but they aren’t as accurate as medical scans. Results can also fluctuate depending on your hydration, the time of day, and the device you use.
If you’re concerned about a high reading, it’s best to discuss it with a healthcare professional who can arrange more reliable tests if needed.
Waist-to-hip ratio
Your waist-to-hip ratio compares how much fat you carry around your middle with how much you carry around your hips. It won't tell you exactly how much visceral fat you have, but it's a quick, free way to spot whether fat is settling around your organs.
How to measure it:
Grab a flexible tape measure and measure against bare skin, standing up and breathing normally.
Measure your waist at its narrowest point, which is the midpoint between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone. This isn't your belly button or your trouser line.
Breathe out gently rather than pulling your stomach in, and keep the tape snug without digging into your skin.
Measure your hips at the widest point.
Divide your waist by your hips, using the same unit for both. So, a waist of 90cm and hips of 102cm gives a ratio of 0.88.
For consistency, take your measurements at the same time of day, ideally in the morning before you eat.
What your results mean:
Lower risk
Moderate risk
Higher risk
Men
Below 0.90
0.91 to 0.95
0.96 or above
Women
Below 0.80
0.81 to 0.85
0.86 or above
Visceral fat vs. subcutaneous fat
Visceral fat and subcutaneous fat are the two main types of body fat, but they behave very differently.
Subcutaneous fat is the layer stored just under your skin, so it's the fat you can pinch on your arms, hips, or thighs. It's more visible and can affect how your body looks and feels, but it isn't usually linked as strongly to long-term health problems.
Visceral fat lies deeper inside the abdomen and surrounds your organs. It's harder to spot but more dangerous in excess, as it's associated with conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
It's also possible to carry little visible fat under the skin and still have high levels of visceral fat, a body type sometimes described as "TOFI" (thin outside, fat inside).
This is why waist measurements and other tests are more reliable indicators of risk than weight or appearance alone.
Does visceral fat differ by sex?
Men and women tend to store fat in different places, and that pattern is largely driven by sex hormones.
Men generally carry less total body fat than women but tend to store more fat in the abdominal region, including visceral fat. Meanwhile, women before menopause usually have more total body fat, but store most of it subcutaneously around the hips, thighs, and bottom.
Then, during menopause, fat begins to redistribute away from the hips and thighs, and towards the abdomen, so many women notice their shape changing even if their weight stays much the same. This could be why weight loss is harder during menopause.
Visceral fat ranges for men and women
Doctors sometimes use waist measurements as a simple way to check the health risks linked with excess fat around the abdomen. The NHS explains that people with larger waist sizes are more likely to develop obesity-related health problems.
The following ranges are often used in clinical and public health settings to show when this risk increases:
Group
Increased risk
High risk
Men
Waist measurement over 94cm (37in)
Waist measurement over 102cm (40in)
Women
Waist measurement over 80cm (31.5in)
Waist measurement over 88cm (34.5in)
These measurements are a guide and should be considered alongside other health checks. If you’re worried about your waist size or overall risk, it’s best to speak to a healthcare professional.
Does ethnicity affect visceral fat levels?
Two people can have the same weight and BMI but store very different amounts of fat around their organs, and ethnic background is one reason why.
It found that BMI significantly underestimated visceral fat in all the non-European groups, with Chinese and South Asian participants carrying more abdominal fat than Europeans overall.
As risks like type 2 diabetes and heart disease appear at a lower BMI in these groups an ‘overweight’ classification starts at a BMI of 23 rather than 25, and an ‘obese’ classification starts at 27.5 rather than 30.
Visceral fat ranges by ethnic group
We've outlined the BMI ranges for overweight and obesity by the ethnicities studied in the trial.
There’s no way to target visceral fat alone, but you can reduce it through overall weight loss. A combination of healthy eating, regular exercise, good sleep, and stress management works best.
Make sure you’re:
Doing regular activity. Moving your body helps you burn energy, maintain muscle, and support a healthy weight. You don't need intense workouts to see benefits. Activities like brisk walking, cycling, swimming, or strength training can all help reduce visceral fat over time.
Eating balanced meals. Focus on whole foods, including lean protein, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and healthy fats. This can keep blood sugar levels steadier, manage hunger, and make it easier to maintain a healthy weight.
Getting enough sleep and managing stress. Both play an important role in weight management. Poor sleep and ongoing stress can increase hunger, cravings, and the likelihood of storing excess fat around your abdomen. Finding time to rest, relax, and maintain a regular sleep routine can help.
The key is consistency: combining healthy eating, movement, rest, and stress management can help your body to gradually reduce the amount of visceral fat it’s carrying.
Top tips for losing visceral fat
Small daily habits can make a big difference when you’re trying to reduce visceral fat. These practical steps are easy to build into your routine:
Swap refined carbs for wholegrains. Choose brown rice, oats, or wholemeal bread instead of white versions.
Eat plenty of high-fibre vegetables. These help to control appetite and stabilise blood sugar.
Cut down on alcohol. Keep to the NHS low-risk drinking guidelines (no more than 14 units a week).
Do strength training at home. Try squats, wall push-ups, or resistance bands to protect muscle as you lose fat. If you’d prefer to go to the gym, you can find your nearest gym here.
Set a bedtime routine. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day improves sleep quality and supports weight management.
Plan ahead. Meal prepping or making healthy snack swaps makes it easier to stick with changes long-term.
Signs you're losing visceral fat
Possible signs you're losing visceral fat:
a smaller waist measurement or lower waist-to-hip ratio
clothes feeling looser around the middle
weight loss on the scales, especially when combined with a healthier diet and activity
better blood pressure readings
improved cholesterol and blood sugar results at check-ups
feeling fitter, with more energy and stamina for everyday activities
Because visceral fat sits around your internal organs, you won’t see changes as clearly as you would with fat just under the skin. Instead, progress often shows up through body measurements and health improvements.
Can weight loss injections help you lose visceral fat?
These medicines work best when combined with healthy lifestyle changes. A balanced diet, regular activity, good sleep, and stress management all help to ensure the fat you lose is sustainable - and that you keep it off long-term.
Retatrutide is an investigational weight loss injection that's currently in clinical trials. In these trials, it's been shown to directly break down fat.
“When you lose weight, you naturally reduce visceral fat, too. If you’re finding weight loss difficult and meet the right criteria, weight loss injections may help support you safely and effectively.
"Because visceral fat isn’t always visible, it’s important not to assume. A healthcare professional can arrange the right tests and give you a clear picture of your health, so you can get the right support and treatment.”
If you're looking to lose weight or reduce your visceral fat, Chemist4U can help. We have a range of prescription-strength weight loss pills and injections available to give you the helping hand you need.
Simply complete a quick online consultation, and one of our expert clinicians will determine if a weight loss treatment is the right option for you.
You can't always tell if you have visceral fat by looking in the mirror. Even people who appear slim can carry excess fat around their organs, so doctors use measurements and scans rather than appearance alone.
Common signs include:
a waist measurement above 94cm (37in) for men or 80cm (31.5in) for women
an apple-shaped body, where more weight is carried around the waist
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