MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING OF TOTAL-BODY FAT

In this study we assessed different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) s canning regimes and examined some of the assumptions commonly made for measuring body fat content by MRI. Whole body MRI was used to quantif y and study different body fat depots in 67 women. The whole body MRI results showed that there was a significant variation in the percentag e of total internal, as well as visceral, adipose tissue across a rang e of adiposity, which could not be predicted from total body fat and/o r subcutaneous fat. Furthermore, variation in the amount of total, sub cutaneous, and visceral adipose tissue was not related to standard ant hropometric measurements such as skinfold measurements, body mass inde x, and waist-to-hip ratio. Finally, we show for the first time subject s with a percent body fat close to the theoretical maximum (68%). This study demonstrates that the large variation in individual internal fa t content cannot be predicted from either indirect methods or direct i maging techniques, such as MRI or computed tomography, on the basis of a single-slice sampling strategy.