The Concept of CMR

Key Points

• Metabolic studies have shown that in both men and women the amount of intra-abdominal adipose tissue is strongly linked to metabolic abnormalities that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and CVD.
• Overall obesity increases CVD risk. A wealth of data also indicates that obese individuals with high levels of abdominal fat—intra-abdominal or visceral fat in particular—form an obese subgroup with the worst metabolic profile.
• Because not every obese patient is at increased risk of CVD, the challenge for clinicians is to identify the subgroup of patients at highest risk of CVD. This requires clinicians to do more than measure body weight and calculate BMI.
• In order to properly evaluate CVD risk among overweight/obese patients, emphasis should be placed on estimating intra-abdominal adipose tissue using simple tools such as waist circumference.