Medical Research Council (UK research organization) reveals the impact of visceral fat

In August 2025, the Medical Research Council (a UK research organization) announced that the accumulation of visceral fat around internal organs accelerates cardiac aging, after analyzing more than 21,000 MRI images from the UK Biobank database using advanced artificial intelligence algorithms. The study made it possible to accurately calculate the biological age of the heart, revealing that increased visceral fat is associated with tissue stiffness and loss of elasticity even in individuals with a normal body mass index. It also showed gender differences - a higher effect in men than in premenopausal women. The findings highlight the importance of fat distribution on health risks, and open a pathway for evaluating the effectiveness of exercise and drug treatments such as GLP-1 inhibitors. There is no reliable figure for the size of the impact on health policy or the scope for clinical adoption.