Obesity and its co-morbidities, including type II diabetes, insulin resistance and cardiovascular diseases, have become one of the biggest health issues of present times. The impact of obesity goes well beyond the individual and is so far-reaching that, if it continues unabated, it will cause havoc with the economies of most countries. In order to be able to fully understand the relationship between increased adiposity (obesity) and its co-morbidity, it has been necessary to develop proper methodology to accurately and reproducibly determine both body fat content and distribution, including ectopic fat depots. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Spectroscopy (MRS) have recently emerged as the gold-standard for accomplishing this task. Here, we will review the use of different MRI techniques currently being used to determine body fat content and distribution. We also discuss the pros and cons of MRS to determine ectopic fat depots in liver, muscle, pancreas and heart and compare these to emerging MRI techniques currently being put forward to create ectopic fat maps. Finally, we will discuss how MRI/MRS techniques are helping in changing the perception of what is healthy and what is normal and desirable body-fat content and distribution.

中文翻译：

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全身脂肪：含量和分布

肥胖及其合并症，包括 II 型糖尿病、胰岛素抵抗和心血管疾病，已成为当今最大的健康问题之一。肥胖的影响远远超出个人，而且影响深远，如果持续有增无减，将对大多数国家的经济造成严重破坏。为了能够充分了解增加的肥胖（肥胖）与其合并症之间的关系，有必要开发适当的方法来准确和可重复地确定身体脂肪含量和分布，包括异位脂肪库。磁共振成像 (MRI) 和光谱学 (MRS) 最近已成为完成这项任务的金标准。这里，我们将回顾目前用于确定体脂肪含量和分布的不同 MRI 技术的使用。我们还讨论了 MRS 在确定肝脏、肌肉、胰腺和心脏中的异位脂肪库方面的利弊，并将这些与目前提出的用于创建异位脂肪图的新兴 MRI 技术进行比较。最后，我们将讨论 MRI/MRS 技术如何帮助改变人们对什么是健康以及什么是正常和理想的体脂含量和分布的看法。