Why consider fat distribution in older patients?

Dr Francesco Fantin is Assistant Professor for Geriatric Medicine, University of Verona, Italy.

It is known that ageing is associated with a progressive increase in fat mass, in particular visceral adipose tissue, and a decrease in the peripheral subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Several studies have shown the protective role of gluteo-femoral fat for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. In the last issue of Age and Ageing we showed that arteries are less stiff in women with high levels of gluteo-femoral fat, whereas the arterial stiffness in subjects with high visceral fat mass was higher. These findings confirm and highlight the importance of fat distribution in older post-menopausal women.