This study aimed to compare the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) techniques for the measurement of visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Twenty-five male subjects who underwent CT and
MRI imaging within 30 days were included in the study and reviewed by the Institutional Review Board. For MRI, 3.0 Tesla Achieva TX (Philips Medical Systems) was used, and for CT imaging, a 64 channel detector
(Lightspeed VCT, Discovery HD 750) was used. VAT was measured at the umbilical level. Cut-off values of Hounsfield units in the range of -50 to -250 were assigned for adipose tissues in the CT images, and the crosssectional distance ratios were used with MRI scanning. The mean difference in total adipose tissue (TAT) between CT (mean: 21711.7 ± 5232 mm³) and MRI (mean 21445.5 ± 4882 mm³) was 266 mm³, Also, the mean difference in VAT between CT (mean 10133.8 ± 2304 mm³) and MRI (mean 10143 ± 2107 mm³) was 9.6 mm³. The two images were highly correlated with TAT: R² 0.90 (p < .01) and VAT: R² 0.90 (p < .01). The VAT measured using MRI showed high similarity with the CT image, good reproducibility of soft tissue image, and excellent quantitative value of abdominal obesity.