Measurement of visceral fat thickness by ultrasound and comparison with visceral fat area determinations

Introduction: Visceral fat quantity is an important factor in the prediction of the cardiovascular risk of obesity. The „gold standard“ of its measurement is the determination by CT. However, the exposure to ionizing radiation, high cost and low availability put limits to the routine use of CT for this purpose. Ultrasonography (US) is a simple, readily available, low-cost method for the measurement of visceral fat thickness (VFT) which correlates well with the CT data, according to the literature. Another simple and available method is the bioimpedance measurement of visceral fat area (VFA). Purpose: Comparison…