The Study
Higher Content of Trans Fatty Acids in Abdominal Visceral Fat of Morbidly Obese Individuals undergoing Bariatric Surgery compared to Non-Obese Subjects
This study looked at how much trans fat was stored in different kinds of belly fat in people who had surgery. It found that trans fat was more common in the deep belly fat than the fat under the skin, but it didn't show that eating trans fat makes you fat — it just showed where the fat ended up.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Scientists checked the fat inside people's bellies after surgery and found that the deep belly fat had more unhealthy trans fats than the fat under the skin.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 532 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — this means even thin people can have high levels of unhealthy trans fats in their most dangerous fat, which is linked to heart disease and diabetes.
- 2Deep belly fat had 8.7% trans fats in obese people and 9.3% in non-obese people — higher than other fat types (6.3–6.9%).
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Obesity Surgery
Year
2005
Authors
J. W. Bortolotto, Cíntia Reis, A. Ferreira, S. Costa, C. Mottin, A. A. Souto, R. Guaragna
Related Content
Claims (4)
In adults undergoing abdominal surgery, visceral abdominal fat has higher levels of trans fatty acids than fat stored under the skin or behind the abdomen, regardless of whether the person is obese or not.
People who are morbidly obese and those who are not obese have the same amount of trans fatty acids in their deep abdominal fat tissue when they undergo abdominal surgery.
Brazilian surgical patients have higher levels of trans fatty acids in their abdominal fat than people in other countries, based on previous measurements.
Eating trans fats leads to more fat accumulating around internal organs, even if the total number of calories consumed stays the same.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.