Central Obesity: An Emerging Player in Cardiac Remodelling and Dysfunction

Abnormal or excessive fat accumulation is defined as obesity. The prevalence of obesity has risen worldwide in the last years. Obesity increases cardiovascular disease risk, affecting cardiac and vascular systems. Accordingly, the health burden related to obesity has been increased. Notably, even individuals with normal body weight can present with excessive accumulation of visceral fat, also known as central obesity. Population-based studies demonstrated associations between central obesity measures, including waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and visceral adipose tissue, and adverse cardiovascular events and increased all-cause mortality. It has been shown that central obesity induces cardiac remodelling and dysfunction. Moreover, central obesity measures proved to be more reliable predictors of cardiac remodelling and dysfunction than traditional obesity measures such as body mass index. This review presents recent evidence of the detrimental effects of central obesity on cardiac function and structure.