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StarTalk · 3 min · Oct 24, 2026

Visceral fat can matter more than the number on the scale

UK Biobank data showed higher diabetes risk in normal-weight people with high visceral fat than in heavier people with low visceral fat. Morgan McSweeney says aerobic activity can reduce visceral fat without changing scale weight.

MM

Morgan McSweeney

Morgan McSweeney is a pharmaceutical scientist and medfluencer.

Translates medical evidence for the public and advises organizations, including the WHO and White House science office.

About this segment

UK Biobank data showed higher diabetes risk in normal-weight people with high visceral fat than in heavier people with low visceral fat. Morgan McSweeney says aerobic activity can reduce visceral fat without changing scale weight.

From “The Science of Looksmaxxing, with Doc Noc”, Oct 24, 2026. Watch the full episode

“UK Biobank did an interesting study. If you compare people who were overweight, you know, by looking in the mirror, looking at the total body weight scale versus normal weight”
MMMorgan McSweeneyat 17:15 · StarTalk17:15

Takeaways

  1. The study reported about 6% diabetes risk for normal-weight people with high visceral fat.
  2. It reported about 2% risk for overweight people with low visceral fat.
  3. Aerobic activity can reduce visceral fat even without weight loss.

In this episode

Full episode

  1. 16:51Visceral fat can matter more than the number on the scale2:36

  2. 23:37Animal results can miss dangerous differences in human biology3:38Up next
  3. 46:09Evidence for creatine and brain health remains uncertain2:39
  4. 3 more moments in the full episode

Transcript

Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.

  1. 17:03

    Visceral fat, and this is one of the unique places where our biology is on our side, when you lose a little bit of weight, Visceral fat comes off disproportionately first. It's also disproportionately risky to your health. And so, you know, losing even a couple percent of total body fat, you'll see much more of your visceral fat go. And the reason you care about that is it is crazily associated with risk for future cardiometabolic health.

  2. 17:28

    UK Biobank did an interesting study. If you compare people who were overweight, you know, by looking in the mirror, looking at the total body weight scale versus normal weight, but people who are normal weight with a lot of visceral fat because that can happen. You can be overweight on the scale but not have much visceral fat. The normal weight people with a lot of visceral fat had like a 6% chance of getting type 2 diabetes.

  3. 17:50

    It was like 2% for the people who were overweight but with low visceral fat. So a threefold difference in the opposite direction of what you would expect by looking at somebody. So visceral fat has, it's a disproportionate impact on your health. But when you go to either lose weight, you actually don't have to lose weight to lose visceral fat. If you just increase aerobic activity, you have to increase it kind of a lot like the threshold is 150 minutes like minutes per week But you don't have to lose the number on the scale Doesn't have to change for your visceral fat to be going down meaningfully you can do body recomposition You're doing more aerobic activity. The fact that it is so metabolically hot works to your advantage that it can go off first, even if not much changes in your whole body.

  4. 18:39

    You said body recomposition. Yeah. Okay. What is that? Exactly. So, you know, say I'm 193 pounds. And say I'm going to add more strength training. I'm going to be eating, you know, my total energy intake is going to keep me right at 193 pounds, but I'm going to be eating enough protein and I'm going to be doing strength training. What's going to happen is maybe my body fat is going to go down a little bit.

  5. 19:02

    My muscle mass is going to go up. So you're going to weigh the same, but your body is going to be re-comprised in such a way that you're more lean and muscular at the same weight. That's right. Okay. We used to call that conditioning. Conditioning. Yeah.