Obese individuals with excess visceral fat ( abdominal fat that surrounds the body 's internal organs ) have an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes , according to a new study by researchers at ut southwestern medical center .
The study , which collected information from ut southwestern 's dallas heart study , sampled 732 obese adults -- those with a body mass index of 30 or greater -- between the ages of 30 and 65 , without diabetes or cardiovascular disease .
" Among obese individuals , it is not necessarily how much fat a person has , but rather where the fat is located on a person that leads to diabetes , " according to the paper 's senior author , dr. james de lemos , professor of internal medicine at ut southwestern .