Abdominal obesity, and in particular increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT), is associated with insulin resistance, glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes.8, 9, 10 VAT is considered to be more sensitive to lipolytic stimuli than other adipose depots,11, 12 and it has been suggested that visceral obesity decreases insulin action via increased delivery of free fatty acids in insulin-sensitive tissues.13, 14 It is therefore plausible that VAT is implicated in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, the investigation of which relies on accurate quantification of VAT. This evidence concerns the gene INS and Abdominal obesity.