Where you store fat, and your fat-distribution genes
Two people can carry the same amount of fat with very different health risk, because where the fat sits matters as much as how much there is, and that is partly inherited.
PPARG · FTO · ADRB2 · FABP2Not all body fat is equal. Fat around the organs carries far more metabolic risk than fat under the skin, and your genetics influence which pattern your body prefers.
Visceral versus subcutaneous fat
Subcutaneous fat sits under the skin and is relatively benign. Visceral fat wraps around the internal organs and is metabolically active in a harmful way, driving insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk. Two people at the same weight can have very different amounts of each.
The genes that steer storage
Where your body parks fat is shaped by genes including PPARG, FTO, ADRB2 and FABP2, which influence fat-cell behaviour and where new fat is deposited. This is why body shape, the classic “apple versus pear”, runs in families.
Why location matters
Because visceral fat carries the metabolic risk, knowing your tendency toward it changes the priority. A person prone to visceral storage has more reason to act early, even at a normal weight, than someone who stores fat subcutaneously.
Your genotype shapes where fat goes. Knowing whether you tend toward risky visceral fat targets the right interventions sooner.
What actually helps
Visceral fat responds well to the fundamentals: a controlled calorie balance, regular exercise (which preferentially reduces visceral fat), good sleep and limited refined carbohydrate and alcohol. The genotype raises or lowers the urgency, the levers stay practical.
The science, in depth
PPARG governs adipocyte differentiation and fat storage capacity, FTO and ADRB2 influence energy balance and lipolysis, and FABP2 affects fat absorption; together they modulate the visceral-versus-subcutaneous deposition pattern that determines metabolic risk at a given body weight.
Watch: Dr. Wallerstorfer explains it
A short lecture in which Daniel explains how gene defects influence fat distribution.
Go deeper
Everything behind this Gene Story: what your personal report shows, Dr. Wallerstorfer’s explanation, and the full scientific review.
Your report chapter
Your Weight analysis includes a Fat Distribution chapter with your genotypes and your tendency toward visceral versus subcutaneous fat.
See what the analysis covers →Dr. Wallerstorfer explains it
A short lecture in which Daniel explains how gene defects influence fat distribution.
Watch the lecture →Scientific review
The full internal Novogenia laboratory review on body-fat distribution is available to partners on request.
Your personal Weight report
This Gene Story is one chapter of the Weight analysis, where it appears with your own genotype, a colour-coded verdict and recommendations tailored to you.
See your own fat-distribution genetics
A single DNA analysis shows where your body tends to store fat, and what to do about it.
Explore the Weight analysis →