en Sports and Exercise Medicine Sports and Exercise Medicine Original Research Original Research <p><strong>Background: </strong>Central fat deposition seems to be a risk factor for developing metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in overweight and obese individuals. Ultrasound is an accurate and non-invasive tool for measuring abdominal fat thickness and can precisely separate subcutaneous from visceral fat. This study was conducted to apply ultrasonography as a simple and reliable method to measure subcutaneous and visceral abdominal fat thickness and evaluate the relationship between this measured abdominal fat thickness and metabolic risk factors.<br> <strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; Methods:</strong> A total of 80 overweight and obese women were included in this study. Anthropometric indices and abdominal fat thickness were measured using ultrasound. The association between abdominal fat thickness and metabolic risk factors with anthropometric indices was assessed using correlation coefficient.<br> <strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; Results:</strong> The mean (&plusmn; SD) of subcutaneous and visceral fat thickness was 2.71&plusmn;0.92 and 5.46&plusmn;1.88, respectively. There was a relationship between waist circumference and visceral and subcutaneous fat thickness. Also, there was a relationship between ultrasound&ndash;measured visceral fat thickness and fasting blood glucose and triglyceride.<br> <strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; Conclusion: </strong>Ultrasonography is a simple and reliable method to measure abdominal fat thickness as an important predictor of metabolic diseases.<br> &nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> Ultrasonography, Obesity, Visceral fat, Metabolic disease 453 458 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-455-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Hooman Angoorani hoomanangoorani@yahoo.com 200319475328460039846 200319475328460039846 No Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Hazrat Rasool-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Zeinab Karimi Dr.zeinabk@yahDr.zeinabk@yahoo.com 200319475328460039847 200319475328460039847 No Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Hazrat Rasool-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Farokh Naderi Dr.naderi@yahoo.com 200319475328460039848 200319475328460039848 No Department of Radiology, Hazrat Rasool-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Ali Mazaherinezhad mazaherinezhad@gmail.com 200319475328460039849 200319475328460039849 Yes Minimally Invasive Surgery Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.