One test I think is particularly interesting is the one that looks at internal fat—especially fat stored in the liver. It’s often more informative than what the scales tell you, and it can change quite quickly over time.
The reason liver fat matters is simple. When fat builds up in the liver, it interferes with how the liver does its job. Glucose isn’t stored as efficiently, fats aren’t processed properly, and a cascade of metabolic problems can start to develop. Even moderate levels of fatty liver are associated with around a 50% higher risk of heart attacks, type 2 diabetes, and several cancers.
What makes this especially important is that fatty liver is usually silent. Many people have no symptoms at all, and you don’t need to be visibly obese for it to be a problem. That’s why I think it’s a useful thing to know about—it flags risk that might otherwise go completely unnoticed.
I was particularly curious about my own results when they came back. I have a strong family history of type 2 diabetes, and my blood sugar has always hovered uncomfortably close to the pre-diabetic range. So I was genuinely relieved to see that my liver fat levels were very low, and that the tissue itself was healthy, elastic and functioning well. For once, a test came back reassuring.
That’s not something to take for granted, and it reinforced for me how valuable this kind of information can be. If you ever get the opportunity to have a liver fat assessment, it’s probably worth considering—especially if you have risk factors that don’t show up on the bathroom scales.
At the moment, this sort of testing isn’t routinely available through the NHS, and we’re some way off that becoming standard practice. But it’s an area I expect we’ll hear a lot more about, because understanding internal fat tells us far more about metabolic health than weight alone ever could.
