Visceral Fat
Fat stored around internal organs — metabolically active, risk-driving, and the first fat GLP-1 loss tends to mobilize.
Not all fat is equal: subcutaneous fat sits under the skin, while visceral fat packs around abdominal organs and behaves like an endocrine organ — secreting inflammatory signals, feeding the liver fatty acids directly, and driving insulin resistance. It's the anatomical reason waist size predicts risk better than BMI.
The encouraging physiology: visceral fat is metabolically twitchy, mobilized early during weight loss — which is why health markers (glucose, triglycerides, blood pressure) often improve before the mirror fully agrees, and why a shrinking waistline is the most medically meaningful progress photo. Tape-measure tracking at the navel, monthly, captures what the scale can't distinguish.
This glossary entry is general information, not medical advice, and is written to be consistent with FDA prescribing information and primary trial publications as of its last review. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider for personal medical decisions.
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