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A Matter of Fat: Body Fat Distribution and Cardiometabolic Disease in Africa

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Physical Exercise and Natural and Synthetic Products in Health and Disease

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2343))

Abstract

Africa is a complex and diverse continent that faces numerous challenges. It is a region in epidemiological transition which is currently experiencing a dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. The high prevalence of cardiometabolic disease (CMD) on the continent is driven largely by the increasing prevalence of obesity in the more affluent African nations. Although epidemiological studies demonstrate that a greater level of total body fat is associated with a higher risk for CMD, there is a complex association between body fat distribution and CMD risk. Thus, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is considered a prime etiological agent for CMD, while subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) may act as a protective factor. The literature demonstrates positive correlations of VAT with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and atherogenic dyslipidemia. However, the mechanisms via which VAT and SAT modulate CMD risk in African patients require further investigation. In addition, studies from high-income countries have shown that HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) are associated with changes in body fat distribution and higher risk for CMDs. The prevalence of HIV infection is at its highest in sub-Saharan Africa. However, cross-sectional studies from this region have produced contradictory results on the association of HIV and ART with CVD risk factors, and data is required from large prospective studies to clarify these relationships.

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Acknowledgments

The AWI-Gen Collaborative Centre was funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), Office of the Director (OD), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Office of AIDS research (OAR) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number U54HG006938 and its supplements, as part of the H3Africa Consortium. Additional funding was leveraged from the Department of Science and Technology, South Africa, award number DST/CON 0056/2014.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Nasrin Goolam Mahyoodeen

  2. Department of Chemical Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Nigel J. Crowther

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  1. Nasrin Goolam Mahyoodeen
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  2. Nigel J. Crowther
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Correspondence to Nigel J. Crowther .

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  1. Charlesworth House, Debden, Essex, UK

    Paul C. Guest

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Goolam Mahyoodeen, N., Crowther, N.J. (2022). A Matter of Fat: Body Fat Distribution and Cardiometabolic Disease in Africa. In: Guest, P.C. (eds) Physical Exercise and Natural and Synthetic Products in Health and Disease. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2343. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1558-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1558-4_3

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