Providing independent clinical excellence since 2005
LDL-C alone may miss important cardiovascular risk. This article explains why ApoB and small dense LDL often better reflect atherosclerotic burden, especially in metabolic disease and high visceral fat. It outlines practical lipid targets by risk category and shows how LDL-C:ApoB ratios can estimate dangerous particle patterns
Measuring your waist isn’t about shape or clothing size. It’s a simple health check that reflects harmful visceral fat around the organs. Measuring the narrowest point can miss risk. For meaningful results, waist must be measured at a fixed anatomical point and tracked consistently over time.
Because cholesterol is a fat-like substance, it cannot dissolve or travel freely in blood, which is mostly water. To move around, it must be packaged into microscopic transport particles called lipoproteins. One of these, LDL (low-density lipoprotein), acts as the main delivery vehicle, carrying cholesterol from the liver to cells that need it for repair or hormone production. In small amounts, LDL cholesterol is therefore completely normal and necessary. The problem only begins when too much LDL remains circulating in the blood for too long.
Medical imaging is the only reliable way to assess true body composition. Weight and smart scales cannot distinguish bone, muscle, or visceral fat. DEXA and low-dose CT provide accurate insight, while home tracking tools support the behavioural change needed to lower visceral fat and long-term cardiometabolic risk.
Smart body composition scales are not metabolic truth machines. Their value lies in engagement, not precision. During weight loss—especially with GLP-1 therapy—hydration and glycogen shifts distort “muscle” readings. Used within a tiered system that prioritises waist, strength, and function, they can support behaviour without undermining progress.
January isn’t just about weight loss. Much winter weight gain occurs as visceral fat, which drives insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk. Measuring your waist, not just your weight, gives a clearer picture of metabolic health. Building muscle and reducing visceral fat supports a healthier metabolism long after January ends.
The surprising impact of height measurement errors on your health calculations — and why that old number you remember might be wrong Your height affects crucial health calculations like BMI and visceral fat measurements, but most people rely on outdated […]
Santa’s famous belly is festive, but it highlights an important metabolic lesson: WHERE fat is stored matters more than how it looks. Visceral fat, hidden deep around the organs, drives inflammation and cardiometabolic risk — unlike softer, subcutaneous fat. Understanding this difference is key to real metabolic health.
Patients often ask about home monitoring tools — ECG devices, blood pressure monitors, glucose apps. We now also encourage people to track their waistline and visceral fat, using body composition scales alongside more traditional equipment.To support this, I have created a page of recommended home gadgets that can help patients take greater ownership of their health — a vital step towards a more proactive, prevention-focused model of care, guided by their clinical and educational team.
The most effective path to reducing visceral fat without medication is not just to “eat less.” It’s to build more muscle, eat smarter, and track your progress. In this blog, which also forms one of the chapters of an ebook, I outline the programme and tools our patients use in our cardiometabolic clinic.
Traditional health improvement plans assume everyone responds the same way. Real life tells us otherwise. N-of-1 explains how to use a personalised, precision-medicine approach to reduce visceral fat, stabilise metabolism and rebuild long-term health. Through weekly reflections, practical tools and small self-experiments, the book guides you to uncover what truly works for you — not for the average patient, but for your own unique physiology.
At SCVC we use low dose CT to measure visceral adipose tissue (VAT). With a radiation dose of 1mSv - equivalent to 1/4 of the dose used in a mammogram. The test determines what proportion of an expanded waistline is visceral (metabolically dangerous) versus subcutaneous (metabolically benign) fat. When combined with other anthropometrics such as weight, height, waist we use AI to calculate a metabolically healthy target waist and weight to aim for. A example of a repeat scan after 3 months of GLP-1 mimetic is also shown.