Liver fat, not BMI, predicts diabetes risk in Asian Indians

Doctors have long used a number called BMI, which compares weight and height, to guess who might get diabetes.

A new study says that for Asian Indians, this number is not enough.

The study found that fat hidden inside organs like the liver and pancreas can build up long before someone gets diabetes.

Even people with a normal-looking BMI can have a lot of this hidden fat.

The study looked at 45 adults, some healthy, some with prediabetes, and some with new diabetes.

People with prediabetes had almost twice as much fat in their livers as healthy people.

Liver fat was the best clue for predicting blood sugar problems—better than BMI.

The scientists used special scans to see the fat inside the body.

They say finding and reducing this hidden fat early, with healthy eating and exercise, might help stop diabetes later.

So where fat is stored matters more than just how much a person weighs.