The amount of dietary fiber a person consumes may influence how much body fat they carry, particularly visceral fat. Fat is stored in two primary locations: subcutaneous fat (beneath the skin) and visceral fat, which surrounds internal organs and is more strongly linked to metabolic disease.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009;90(5):1160–1166) examined the relationship between dietary fiber intake and visceral fat in 85 Hispanic adolescents between the ages of 11 and 17. Dietary intake was assessed using two-day dietary recall, and body fat distribution was measured using MRI and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Higher fiber intake was associated with lower amounts of visceral adipose tissue. The researchers also noted that relatively small reductions in fiber intake were associated with significant increases in visceral fat. These findings suggest that fiber intake may play an important role in body fat distribution during adolescence.
