The effect of high‐intensity focused electromagnetic procedure on visceral adipose tissue: Retrospective assessment of computed tomography scans

BACKGROUND: High levels of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) are associated with abdominal obesity and increased risk of metabolic deterioration. Recent studies showed that intensive physical exercise results in the reduction of subcutaneous and visceral fat. AIMS: This study investigates the effect of supramaximal muscle contractions induced by a HIFEM procedure for abdominal VAT changes. METHODS: Computed tomography (CT) scans of 22 subjects (47.3 ± 8.4 years, BMI of 23.5 ± 3.5 kg/m(2)) who received 8 HIFEM treatments of the abdomen (2‐3 days apart) were retrospectively evaluated for the changes in VAT. The CT scans were obtained at baseline and 1 month after the last treatment. The transverse slices at umbilical, infraumbilical, and supraumbilical levels were used to determine the cross‐sectional area (CSA) of VAT through a semi‐automated segmentation method. RESULTS: Analysis of the CSA revealed a significant (P = .004) and uniform reduction of the abdominal VAT area by 14.3% (−16.7 cm(2)) from 110.6 ± 69.0 cm(2) to 93.9 ± 54.6 cm(2). In general, a higher relative improvement was seen infraumbilically (17.1%), followed by supraumbilical (15.5%) and umbilical (10.7%) levels. The reduction of VAT was strongly correlated to the reduction of subcutaneous fat (r(17) = 0.66; P = .002). A decrease in VAT volume contributed to the overall aesthetic enhancement visible on digital photographs. CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes indicate that HIFEM technology has a positive effect on VAT. However, further studies are necessary to validate these outcomes and to clarify the exact mechanism of a VAT reduction. Based on our results, the HIFEM procedure may be a beneficial treatment option for patients with high VAT deposits.