What Is Visceral Fat and Why It Matters

by Burst Health October 1, 2026

A stethoscope and a tape measure resting on a clipboard

Visceral fat is fat stored deep inside the belly, around internal organs such as the heart, liver and intestines. A small amount protects the organs, but too much can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Everything here is general information, not medical advice. Outcomes vary between individuals, and a GP can check your own risk.

Key Points

Visceral fat is internal fat that coats the organs. Most body fat sits just under the skin instead.
Too much visceral fat makes more harmful substances than fat under the skin, and it can cause inflammation.
It is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and some cancers.
A waist measurement is the main way to check for it at home.
For adults, risk rises from a waist of 80 cm for women and 94 cm for men, with different cut-offs for some backgrounds.
The best way to reduce it is to lose weight, and regular exercise helps in particular.

Visceral Fat vs Fat Under the Skin

Your body stores fat in different places, and the place matters.

Fat under the skin is where most body fat is stored. It is the fat you can see and feel.
Visceral fat is stored deeper, inside the belly, around the internal organs. It coats the heart, kidneys, liver, digestive organs and pancreas (Heart Foundation).

Schematic cross-section of the belly showing skin, fat under the skin, the muscle wall and visceral fat around the internal organs

Simple diagram, not to scale. Visceral fat sits deep inside the belly, around the organs.

A small amount of visceral fat is normal and protects the organs. The problem is excess. So "belly fat" can mean either kind: some of it is fat under the skin, and some may be visceral fat you cannot see.

Why Visceral Fat Matters

Fat is not just stored energy. It makes chemicals and hormones, and excess visceral fat produces more harmful substances than fat under the skin, so it can be worse for your health. Visceral fat can also cause inflammation.

Too much visceral fat around the belly can be a sign of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors that together raise the chance of stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes:

high blood pressure
excess weight around the belly
low levels of "good" (HDL) cholesterol
high triglyceride levels (a type of fat in the blood)
type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance

A person with 3 or more of these may be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, which affects up to 1 in 3 adults in Australia.

Too much internal fat in the belly is also linked to a higher risk of dementia, cancer, asthma, liver and gall bladder disease, gout, fertility problems, lower back pain and osteoarthritis (healthdirect). For weight and blood glucose, see our guide to weight and type 2 diabetes.

What Causes Visceral Fat?

Excess visceral fat builds up when you take in more energy than you use and do not do enough physical activity. Some people are more likely to store extra energy there:

older males (it is more common in males than in females)
females after menopause
people who had a low birth weight
people with a genetic tendency to store it
people who drink too much alcohol

Genes play a large part in where the body stores fat. Age matters too: post-menopausal women and middle-aged men tend to store visceral fat around the middle (University of Sydney, Charles Perkins Centre).

Visceral fat in women

Many women gain weight around the belly in midlife. Lower oestrogen can cause fat to be stored around the waist rather than on the hips and thighs. In postmenopausal women, belly fat makes up 15% to 20% of total body weight, compared with 5% to 8% before menopause (Better Health Channel, Victorian Government). The weight gain itself is more likely due to ageing and lifestyle than to menopause. For more, see our guide to weight changes after menopause. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is another risk factor for insulin resistance that sits outside your control; see our guide to weight and PCOS.

How to Measure Visceral Fat at Home

You cannot measure visceral fat directly at home. The most accurate measures of belly fat are medical scans (CT or MRI), but waist circumference gives a very good estimate of the risk of metabolic disease, and it is the main way to check for too much internal fat. Compared with body mass index (BMI), waist size is a better predictor of the risk of heart and blood vessel disease. BMI cannot tell how much of your weight is fat and how much is muscle.

All you need is a tape measure:

Stand with your feet fairly close together and your weight even on both feet.
Place the tape directly on your skin, or over one layer of light clothing at most.
Find the top of your hip bone and the bottom of your ribs. Place the tape halfway between them, roughly in line with your belly button.
Breathe out normally.
Pull the tape snug, without squeezing the skin, and read the measurement.

Drawing of where to measure the waist: a tape measure placed halfway between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone, in line with the belly button

Different guides measure at slightly different points, and the numbers differ with each method. Use the same method every time so your measurements compare.

Waist Size and Health Risk

For adults, the waist sizes below show when the chance of health problems rises. The thresholds come from Australia's clinical guidelines, with the risk labels healthdirect uses (NHMRC, 2013; healthdirect):

Threshold	Women	Men
Increased risk	80 cm or more	94 cm or more
Greatly increased risk	88 cm or more	102 cm or more
South Asian, Chinese, Japanese	80 cm or more	90 cm or more

The last row is the threshold linked with a substantially increased risk of metabolic complications for South Asian, Chinese and Japanese adults. In general, the larger the waist, the higher the chance of health problems.

These figures do not suit everyone. They apply to adults only, not to children or pregnant people, or to people whose belly is enlarged by a health condition. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and some other groups, such as Pacific Islanders, specific thresholds have not been set. Waist size can also be less reliable for people living with overweight or obesity. A GP can help you interpret your measurement.

To follow change over time as a share of your starting weight, see how to calculate your weight loss percentage.

Can You Reduce Visceral Fat?

Yes. The best way to reduce excess internal body fat is to lose weight through a healthy diet and more physical activity, and regular exercise helps reduce it and stop it coming back. You can also reduce your chance of chronic disease by:

being physically active for at least 30 minutes on most days
eating a healthy diet
not smoking
cutting back on sugary drinks and alcohol
getting enough sleep

Are some foods worse for visceral fat?

No single food causes visceral fat on its own: it builds up when you take in more energy than you use. The Australian Dietary Guidelines advise limiting foods high in saturated fat, such as biscuits, cakes, pastries, processed meats and fried foods, and foods and drinks with added sugars, such as soft drinks, cordials and energy drinks. They also advise limiting added salt and alcohol.

Even a small loss can help. For people living with overweight or obesity, losing as little as 5% of body weight can bring health benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Results vary between individuals.

When to See a Doctor

If you are concerned that you may have an unhealthy amount of visceral fat, talk to your doctor. To check your risk of diabetes and heart disease, a GP can measure your waist, take your blood pressure and refer you for blood tests of cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar.

For some adults, diet and physical activity may not bring enough weight loss for their health. A doctor or nurse practitioner may then discuss a more intensive approach, such as a very low energy diet, weight loss medication or, for some people living with obesity, bariatric surgery. Any medical treatment is used alongside a healthy diet and physical activity, is a decision for a registered healthcare practitioner after an individual assessment, and outcomes vary between individuals. To learn more:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between belly fat and visceral fat?

Belly fat is any fat around the middle, and it comes in two kinds. Fat under the skin is the soft layer you can see and feel, and it is where most body fat is stored. Visceral fat sits deeper inside the belly, around organs such as the liver and intestines. Too much visceral fat can be worse for your health.

How do I tell if my belly fat is visceral?

You cannot see visceral fat, but a waist measurement gives a good guide. Measure halfway between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone. For adults, a waist of 80 cm or more for women, or 94 cm or more for men, points to a higher chance of health problems, with different cut-offs for some backgrounds. A GP can check further.

What is the major cause of visceral fat?

Taking in more energy than you use while not doing enough physical activity. Some people are more likely to store that extra energy as visceral fat, including older males, females after menopause, people with a genetic tendency and people who drink too much alcohol. Age and genes shape where fat is stored, so outcomes vary between individuals.

How do you lose visceral fat?

By losing weight overall, through a healthy diet and more physical activity. Regular exercise helps reduce visceral fat and stop it coming back. You cannot target it with one exercise, food or drink, because the body draws on fat from all over. Cutting back on sugary drinks and alcohol and getting enough sleep also help. Results vary between individuals.

What are the signs you are losing visceral fat?

You cannot see visceral fat, so the simplest sign to track at home is a smaller waist. Waist size is a useful guide to how much visceral fat you carry. Measure at the same point, the same way, each time, because the numbers differ between methods. A GP can also recheck blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Results vary between individuals.

What burns the most visceral fat?

No single food, drink or exercise burns visceral fat on its own. Weight loss from a healthy diet and more physical activity is the best way to bring it down. Australian guidelines suggest 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity a week, plus muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days.

Will visceral fat ever go away?

Excess visceral fat can reduce with weight loss from a healthy diet and more physical activity. A small amount is normal and protects the organs, so the aim is to reduce the excess. How much changes, and how soon, varies between individuals. Tracking your waist, measured the same way each time, is a simple way to see progress.

References

This article is general information only and does not replace individual medical advice. Please speak with a registered Australian healthcare practitioner about your own circumstances.