Visceral Fat in the UAE: The Hidden Driver Behind Rising Diabetes Rates

In the UAE, visceral fat is emerging as a major but often overlooked health risk. Unlike visible belly fat, visceral fat builds deep inside the abdomen, surrounding vital organs such as the liver and pancreas. This hidden fat plays a direct role in insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and heart problems, conditions that are increasingly becoming common across the UAE and wider GCC region.

Rapid urbanisation, sedentary work culture, high consumption of refined carbohydrates, late-night eating habits, and chronic stress have created an environment where visceral fat can develop even in people with a normal body weight. As a result, many residents are diagnosed with high blood sugar or metabolic disorders without having obvious signs of obesity. This has made visceral fat a key contributor to the UAE’s growing diabetes burden.

The good news is, you can measure visceral fat more accurately today with the help of smart scales like BodyCo by Synaptikore. 

What Visceral Fat Actually Is and Why It Matters So Much in the UAE

Visceral fat is not the fat you can pinch. It sits deep inside the abdomen and surrounds organs such as the liver, pancreas, and intestines. Because it is hidden, people often underestimate it. The UAE already has one of the highest diabetes rates in the world. Visceral fat plays a major role because it directly affects insulin function. Over time, insulin stops working properly. Sugar stays in the blood, and this slowly leads to type 2 diabetes, often without symptoms in the early years.

Daily UAE Habits That Increase Visceral Fat

Several common lifestyle patterns contribute to the problem of visceral fat namely:

• Long hours of sitting at work

• Heavy use of cars and limited daily movement

• Late-night meals and frequent food delivery

• High intake of refined carbs and sugary drinks

• Irregular sleep and high stress levels
  
  
  

How BodyCo Helps You Measure What the Mirror Cannot Show

Visceral fat cannot be seen or tracked with regular weighing scales. This is why body weight alone often gives a false sense of health. What matters more is body composition.

BodyCO by Synaptikore uses advanced multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance technology to measure fat, muscle, and body water with high accuracy. By sending signals at different frequencies, it can assess both water inside cells and outside them, giving a clearer picture of real body composition.

Unlike basic scales, BodyCO performs segmental analysis, measuring the arms, legs, and core separately through an 8-point electrode system. This makes it easier to detect excess fat stored in the abdominal area, where visceral fat develops, even when other parts of the body appear lean.

The Bottom Line

One of the biggest contributors to lifestyle diseases like diabetes is visceral fat. In the UAE, where lifestyle-related diseases are on the rise, awareness is crucial. Small daily changes to your lifestyle, combined with accurate tracking, can prevent diabetes before it starts, not after it’s already diagnosed. Visit BodyCo by Synaptikore to know more.