Objective： To compare intervertebral location L2-L3 with L4-L5 as landmarks for measuring abdominal fat distribution and to determine critical levels of visceral adipose tissue（VAT） at those planes， exceeding which may lead to the development of type 2 diabetes. Methods： Abdominal fat distribution was measured using computed tomography（CT） in 29 diabetics （19 male， 10 female） and 30 non-diabetics （18 male， 12 female）. CT images obtained at two intervertebral locations L2-L3 and L4-L5 were used to measure the areas of total fat， VAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue（SCAT） using slice thickness of 5mm and an attenuation range from -190 to -30 Hounsfield units（HU）. Data were analyzed using logistic regression and Receiver-operating characteristic（ROC） analysis. Results： At L2-L3， diabetes and obesity were correctly classified at 91.53% and 83.05% respectively， while at L4-L5， the same were correctly classified at 84.75% and 88.14% respectively. VAT compared to SCAT， had significantly higher correctly classified percent values for predicting diabetes in both measurement sites. At L2-L3， VAT≥177.29 cm2 or VAT≥51.52% of the total fat area had the highest correctly classified value for predicting diabetes in men， while VAT≥132.27 cm2 or VAT≥45.7% of the total fat area had the highest correctly classified value for predicting diabetes in women. At L4-L5， VAT≥130.82 cm2 or VAT≥45.54% of the total fat area had the highest correctly classified value for predicting diabetes in men， while VAT≥118.56 cm2 or VAT≥32.24% of the total fat area had the highest correctly classified value for predicting diabetes in women. Conclusion： L2-L3 plane is a better landmark for measuring abdominal fat distribution for predicting diabetes， while abdominal fat distribution measured at L4-L5 has better association with obesity. Regardless of the measurement site， VAT compared to SCAT， has significantly stronger association with diabetes.