As the accumulation of visceral fat is central to the development of MetS, it’s critical to know which factors increase the risk of this unfavorable storage of excess calories. The following factors are associated with an increased risk of developing MetS in people consuming excess calories:[1]
- Age: the prevalence of MetS increases with aging because there is a change in fat tissue distribution that favors the storage of excess calories in visceral fat stores, as opposed to subcutaneous fat stores.
- Sex: Visceral fat deposition is lower in women, specifically premenopausal women, than men.
- Genetics: Visceral fat distribution has high heritability rates, as evidenced by family and twin studies. Genetic variants have also been identified that increase susceptibility to metabolic abnormalities from visceral fat accumulation.
- Ethnicity: White populations display greater susceptibility to accumulate visceral fat than Black populations, and Asian populations demonstrate the greatest susceptibility to accumulate visceral fat.
- Diet: A high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages biases excess calories toward visceral fat, and a saturated fat-rich diet increases visceral fat compared to a polyunsaturated fat-rich diet.[2]