Visceral fat: what it is, healthy range and how to reduce it

What visceral fat is

Visceral fat is the fat stored deep inside your abdomen, around your liver, intestines and other organs. Unlike the fat under your skin, it is very active: it releases substances that raise blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, and it is closely linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and fatty liver.

Why Indians need to watch it

Indians tend to carry more fat around the abdomen, and more of it as visceral fat, than Europeans at the same weight. This is sometimes called the 'thin-fat' Indian body type: a normal-looking weight with high body fat inside. It's one reason diabetes and heart disease appear at lower weights in India, and why Indian guidelines use lower BMI and waist cut-offs.

How to measure it

InBody levels are specific to InBody devices; other brands use different scales.

Visceral fat range for women

The same targets apply to women: an InBody level under 10 and a waist under 80 cm for Indian women. Visceral fat often rises after menopause, when falling oestrogen moves fat from the hips and thighs to the abdomen, even without any change in diet. That makes the 40s and 50s a good time to check. Read more about menopause and weight.

How to reduce visceral fat

• Lose weight steadily: visceral fat is usually among the first fat to go when you lose weight.
• Do regular aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, cycling or swimming, most days, plus strength training twice a week.
• Cut back on sugar, sweet drinks, refined flour and alcohol.
• Eat more protein and fibre: dals, vegetables, curd, eggs, fish.
• Sleep 7 to 8 hours and manage stress, as poor sleep and high stress hormones favour abdominal fat.

See our 7-day exercise plan and 7-day Indian diet plan.

Can GLP-1 medicines reduce visceral fat?

In body-composition studies, people on semaglutide and tirzepatide lost visceral fat along with their overall weight loss. These medicines are prescribed for weight management in adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 or more with a weight-related condition, after a doctor's assessment.

How Lean Life tracks it

Every Lean Life patient has regular InBody scans at our Nariman Point clinic, showing visceral fat level, muscle and body fat, so you can see that the weight you lose is the right kind.