How do you know if your fat is on the inside? An Essential Guide to Visceral Fat

January 12, 2026 •

4 min read

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a man's waist circumference of over 40 inches and a woman's of over 35 inches may indicate a higher health risk due to excess internal fat, known as visceral fat. You can't see or feel this fat directly, making it a silent threat to your health. This guide will help you understand how to determine if your fat is on the inside and what steps you can take.

Quick Summary

This article explains how to identify and manage visceral fat, the dangerous fat stored deep within your abdomen. It outlines different assessment methods, health risks, and effective strategies for reduction through diet, exercise, and stress management.

Key Points

Visceral vs. Subcutaneous Fat: Visceral fat is the hidden fat surrounding your internal organs, whereas subcutaneous fat is the visible fat just under your skin.
Key Indicator: Waist Size: The simplest way to assess your internal fat risk is by measuring your waist. A circumference over 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women indicates an increased health risk.
Hidden Danger: You can have high levels of visceral fat even if you have a healthy BMI, a condition known as 'skinny fat'.
Health Risks: Excess visceral fat is linked to serious conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and metabolic syndrome due to its metabolic activity.
Diagnostic Tools: While home measurements are useful, accurate assessment often requires professional methods like DEXA scans, CT, or MRI imaging.
Lifestyle is Key: Reducing visceral fat involves a combination of a high-fiber, high-protein diet, regular exercise (including HIIT and strength training), stress management, and good sleep.

Understanding Visceral Fat: What Is Internal Fat?

Not all fat is the same, and its location in the body matters significantly for your health. The two primary types of body fat are subcutaneous and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is the soft, pinchable fat just beneath your skin, typically found on your hips, thighs, and buttocks. Visceral fat, on the other hand, is stored deeper inside your abdominal cavity, surrounding crucial internal organs such as your liver, stomach, and intestines.

While a certain amount of visceral fat is necessary to cushion and protect your organs, an excess amount is metabolically active and can secrete inflammatory substances and hormones that harm your health. Because it is hidden, having a healthy BMI doesn't automatically mean you have low levels of visceral fat, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as 'skinny fat'.

How Can You Tell If You Have Too Much Internal Fat?

Since you cannot pinch or feel visceral fat like subcutaneous fat, you must rely on other indicators and diagnostic tools to assess your levels. Here are some of the most common methods:

At-Home Measurements

One of the simplest and most accessible ways to estimate your visceral fat is through basic measurements:

Waist Circumference: Wrap a tape measure around your waist just above your hip bones. A waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women or 40 inches for men is a strong indicator of excess visceral fat and an increased health risk.
Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR): Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement (measured at the widest point). According to the Cleveland Clinic, a WHR above 0.85 for women and 0.90 for men suggests abdominal obesity.
Waist-to-Height Ratio (WtHR): The simplest rule for a healthy WtHR is to keep your waist size less than half your height. For example, a person who is 64 inches tall should have a waist circumference of less than 32 inches. A higher ratio indicates a potential for excess visceral fat.

Professional Medical Assessment

For a more accurate and comprehensive diagnosis, a healthcare provider can use more advanced tools:

DEXA Scan: A Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) scan can provide a detailed breakdown of your body composition, differentiating between fat, bone, and muscle mass. It offers more precise estimates of both visceral and subcutaneous fat, especially in the trunk area.
CT or MRI Scans: Considered the gold standard, these imaging techniques provide highly accurate and detailed visuals of fat distribution, allowing medical professionals to quantify visceral fat volume.
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA): Some advanced body composition scales use BIA to estimate body fat percentage. These devices measure the resistance of an electric current as it flows through the body. The accuracy can vary, but certain medical-grade devices can offer insights into visceral fat levels.

Subcutaneous Fat vs. Visceral Fat: A Comparison Table


Feature	Subcutaneous Fat	Visceral Fat
Location	Just beneath the skin	Deep within the abdominal cavity, surrounding organs
Appearance	Soft, pinchable fat you can see and feel	Invisible from the outside, non-pinchable
Metabolic Activity	Less metabolically active	Highly active, releasing hormones and inflammatory substances
Health Impact	Generally less harmful, but excess can cause issues like joint strain	Poses significant health risks, including metabolic and cardiovascular disease
Response to Exercise	Slower to decrease than visceral fat	More responsive to lifestyle changes and can be lost more quickly

The Health Risks of Excess Visceral Fat

Excess visceral fat is strongly linked to several serious health conditions. The inflammatory substances it releases contribute to insulin resistance, raising the risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. It also damages blood vessels, increasing the likelihood of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. Furthermore, studies suggest a correlation between high visceral fat and certain cancers, fatty liver disease, and even dementia.

How to Reduce Internal Fat

Reducing visceral fat is achievable through targeted lifestyle changes. It's often more responsive to intervention than subcutaneous fat.

Diet

Focus on Fiber: Soluble fiber, found in oats, legumes, fruits, and vegetables, is particularly effective at targeting visceral fat.
Prioritize Protein: A high-protein diet can increase satiety, boost metabolism, and aid in fat loss.
Limit Processed Foods and Sugar: Diets high in refined carbohydrates and sugar-sweetened beverages contribute significantly to visceral fat accumulation.
Reduce Alcohol Intake: Excessive alcohol consumption is directly linked to increased belly fat.

Exercise

Incorporate Aerobic Exercise: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, such as brisk walking, jogging, or cycling.
Add High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): HIIT involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by brief recovery periods. It is highly effective at reducing visceral fat.
Don't Neglect Strength Training: Building muscle through resistance training helps boost metabolism and burn calories more efficiently.

Lifestyle Adjustments

Manage Stress: Chronic stress raises cortisol levels, a hormone that promotes fat storage in the abdomen. Incorporate stress-reducing activities like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing.
Prioritize Sleep: Poor sleep is linked to increased visceral fat. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.

Conclusion

While you cannot see your internal or visceral fat, its impact on your health is profound. Relying on simple home measurements like your waist circumference can give you a strong indication of your risk level. For more precision, medical imaging and body composition scans offer detailed insights. The good news is that visceral fat is highly responsive to positive lifestyle changes. By combining a diet rich in fiber and protein with regular exercise and effective stress management, you can effectively reduce your internal fat and significantly lower your risk for serious chronic diseases.

For further information on effective lifestyle modifications, you can explore resources on the Cleveland Clinic website.

Frequently Asked Questions

The most practical at-home method is to measure your waist circumference. For a woman, a measurement over 35 inches, and for a man, over 40 inches, is a strong indicator of excess visceral fat.

Yes, excess visceral fat is considered more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. It is metabolically active and releases inflammatory substances and hormones that can increase the risk of serious health conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

Yes, it is possible to have high levels of visceral fat even with a healthy or normal BMI. This is sometimes called 'skinny fat' and highlights why internal fat is a silent health risk that cannot be judged by appearance alone.

To reduce visceral fat, focus on eating a diet rich in fiber (fruits, vegetables, legumes), lean protein, and healthy fats. Limiting processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and sugary drinks is also crucial.

While you can't spot-reduce fat, visceral fat is more responsive to exercise than subcutaneous fat. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and regular aerobic exercise are particularly effective at reducing visceral fat levels.

Chronic stress increases the production of cortisol, a hormone that encourages fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area as visceral fat. Managing stress is therefore an important strategy for reducing it.

The most accurate medical tests to measure visceral fat are imaging studies like CT or MRI scans. DEXA scans can also provide a precise estimate of body fat distribution, including visceral fat.