Abstract
Obesity is the leading cause of morbidity and heart disease in New Zealand (NZ), and Māori and Pacific people are disproportionately affected. Obesity is characterized by adipose tissue expansion. The fat surrounding the heart, Epicardial Adipose tissue (EAT), has recently been identified as a diagnostic tool for cardiovascular disease. Recent discoveries show that obesity-induced morphological changes to EAT are dissimilar to changes in subcutaneous or visceral adipose tissues. While adipocyte size in subcutaneous, appendicular and pericardial adipose tissues increased in relation to body mass index (BMI), EAT adipocyte size did not. Additionally, the well-established relationship between increased EAT thickness and BMI was not observed in Māori, nor Pacific people. Our study aimed to investigate how obesity affects EAT morphology and EAT localization in diverse ethnic New Zealand populations.