Donald R. Dengel, Ph.D., is a co-author of a recently published article “Reaching the tipping point: identification of thresholds at which may steeply increase in youth.” The related study identified sex-specific body fat thresholds at which visceral adipose tissue levels appear to steeply increase in children and adolescents. 

Visceral adipose tissue is fat tissue located deep in the abdomen and around internal organs. It is a hormonally active component of total body fat, which possesses unique biochemical characteristics that influence several normal and pathological processes in the human body. Previous available evidence indicates that visceral fat may be an important factor in metabolic conditions such as glucose intolerance, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. 

The article was published in the journal Pediatric Obesity.

Dengel is a professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology. Drs. Aaron Kelly and Tyler Bosch, graduates from the School of Kinesiology were also co-authors on this article.