Obesity, insulin and hypertension

Visceral obesity is often associated with multiple cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, dyslipidemia and glucose intolerance or diabetes. These in turn seem to be mediated by hyperinsulinemia which usually arises from resistance to the peripheral actions of insulin on glucose utilization. The entire picture is best referred to as the Insulin Resistance Syndrome. This paper reviews the techniques for measurement of visceral obesity, the determinants of fat distribution, the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, the consequences of visceral obesity and its treatment.