This study used NMR metabolomics to identify associations between serum metabolites and visceral adipose tissue (VAT).

Associations between fasting serum metabolites and VAT area were assessed in MESA (Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis; discovery sample, N=1103) and the NEO (Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity) study (replication sample, N=2537) cohorts. Neeland and colleagues used both untargeted and targeted NMR metabolomics for metabolite analysis, and Nightingale’s high-throughput NMR assay was used for the targeted analysis in the profiling of NEO study. Overall, several significant associations were observed, for instance with glycoprotein acetyls, branched‐chain amino acids, lactate, glutamine (inversely), and atherogenic lipids, reflecting also novel independent associations.