The Silent Surgical Risk: Understanding Visceral Fat and the Role of Bariatric Surgery

For many years, people treated obesity as just a lifestyle issue.

- DR. PANKAJ SHARMA

But the medical community has moved far ahead of that thinking. In its latest report, the World Health Organization (WHO) has formally referred to obesity as a chronic disease, a condition that silently damages multiple organs and increases the risk of life-threatening complications. One of the most underestimated dangers lies inside the abdomen — visceral fat. Unlike the fat you can pinch around your waist, visceral fat is hidden deep around your liver, pancreas, and intestines. And this hidden fat is far more dangerous than it appears.

Dr. Pankaj Sharma, Director of dept. Robotics, Bariatric, Laproscopic and General Surgery from Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh and Founder Shalya Clinic in Rohini New Delhi explains that “as a bariatric surgeon, I often tell patients that visceral fat doesn’t just affect your daily life or your long-term health; it directly influences how safely we can perform any surgical procedure. Many patients are surprised when I explain that obesity itself is not the only concern — where the fat sits matters even more”.

Dr. Sharma explained that “visceral fat is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and certain cancers too. It behaves differently from subcutaneous fat. It is biologically active, producing inflammatory chemicals, hormones, and toxins that interfere with healing and immunity and metabolic balance”. Patients with high visceral fat face several challenges: