scholarly journals Visceral adipose tissue in children and adolescents: a review

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edyta Suliga

Research conducted among adults has mainly shown that visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is strongly linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia, leading to increased risk of CVD or the metabolic syndrome. However, little is known about the aetiology, determinants and consequences of VAT in children. The present article reviews the current literature relating to the factors influencing visceral fat accumulation in children and adolescents. The literature used in the present study was collected by searching a PubMed database, in which studies up to 2008 exploring the factors influencing accumulation of visceral fat among children and youth were found on the basis of appropriate keywords. Further studies concerning different factors influencing deposition of VAT among children and youth should first of all concentrate on: carrying out long-term analyses among children of different ethnical groups, which should begin in the period of prepuberty and which should cover the whole period of puberty till adulthood; drawing up norms specifying the amount of VAT among healthy children; identification of anthropometric indicators which will help to determine the VAT:subcutaneous adipose tissue ratio in the most precise way; broader studies of the influence of eating habits on developing VAT deposit among children and youth.

Circulation ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 118 (suppl_18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eung Ju Kim ◽  
Hong Seog Seo ◽  
Sungeun Kim ◽  
Jin Oh Na ◽  
Jae Hyoung Park ◽  
...  

Background: Visceral adipose tissue is thought to confer increased cardiovascular risk through leukocyte infiltration and increased adipose macrophage activity. Previous positron emission tomography (PET) studies using fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) demonstrated that increased FDG uptake could reflect the severity of inflammation in atherosclerotic plaque. We hypothesized that active atherosclerotic change in the major arteries would accompany increased inflammation within visceral fat and it could be detected in humans using combined FDG PET/computed tomography (CT). Methods: We observed 44 consecutive subjects with cardiovascular disease. For all of them, an one-hour PET/CT (from brain to foot) was performed after injection of FDG (370–555 MBq). FDG uptake in the aorta or its major branches was evaluated visually and semiquantitatively. Maximal standard uptake values (SUV) of the highest regions of interest were calculated in the subcutaneous fat and visceral fat area, separately. Results: Significant FDG uptake in the arterial wall was noted in 21 patients (plaque positive; PP group), all of whom have experienced acute cardiovascular events (acute coronary syndrome or ischemic stroke) within a week. The other 23 patients (plaque negative; PN group) had chronic stable angina or asymptomatic carotid stenosis. Visceral fat SUV was significantly higher as compared to subcutaneous fat SUV (0.49± 0.15 vs. 0.15± 0.05, p< 0.001) in PP group, whereas there was no significant difference in PN group (0.18± 0.07 vs. 0.16± 0.03, p= 0.622). When we compared two groups, PP group showed higher visceral fat SUV than PN group (p< 0.001). In terms of subcutaneous fat SUV, the results were similar in two groups (p= 0.773). Conclusions: We demonstrated that atherosclerotic plaque inflammation was associated with increased inflammation within visceral fat. Our results need to be confirmed by comparison with histologic or other imaging findings. Further evaluation to determine whether metabolic activity of visceral adipose tissue is a marker or mediator of vascular inflammation is also needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio De los Santos ◽  
Luis Antonio Reyes-Castro ◽  
Ramón Mauricio Coral-Vázquez ◽  
Juan Pablo Méndez ◽  
Marcela Leal-García ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:To determine whether (-)-epicatechin (Epi) could decrease visceral adipose tissue and improve the metabolic profile of male offspring rats, after maternal obesity was induced by a high-fat diet (HFD).Design:Maternal obesity in albino Wistar rats was induced with a HFD, whereas male offspring were fed with chow diet throughout the study. Eight male offspring per group, from different litters, were randomly assigned to the experimental or to the control groups. In the experimental group, Epi was administered at a dose of 1 mg/kg of body weight to the male offspring twice daily for two weeks, beginning at postnatal day (PND).Main measures:Weight of visceral adipose tissue, adipocyte size, and several metabolic parameters.Results:Epi administration in the male offspring induced a significant decrease in the amount of visceral fat (11.61 g less, P < 0.05) and in the size of adipose cells (28% smaller, P < 0.01). Besides, Epi was able to decrease insulin, leptin, and Homeostasis Model Assessment -Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) (P < 0.05), as well as triglycerides, when the experimental group was compared to the untreated male offspring of obese rats (P < 0.01).Conclusions:Epi administration can reverse the negative effects that maternal obesity has on the male offspring. This could be because Epi reduces the amount of visceral fat and improves metabolic profile.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua H. F. Cooper ◽  
Blake E. G. Collins ◽  
David R. Adams ◽  
Robert A. Robergs ◽  
Cheyne E. Donges

Purpose. Limited data exists for the effects of sprint-interval training (SIT) and endurance training (ET) on total body composition, abdominal visceral adipose tissue, and plasma inflammation. Moreover, whether “active” or “passive” recovery in SIT provides a differential effect on these measures remains uncertain.Methods. Sedentary middle-aged men (n=62;49.5±5.8 y;29.7±3.7 kg·m2) underwent abdominal computed tomography, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, venepuncture, and exercise testing before and after the interventions, which included the following: 12 wks 3 d·wk−1 ET (n=15; 50–60 min cycling; 80% HRmax), SIT (4–10 × 30 s sprint efforts) with passive (P-SIT;n=15) or active recovery (A-SIT;n=15); or nonexercise control condition (CON;n=14). Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness, whole-body and visceral fat mass, and plasma systemic inflammation were examined.Results. Compared to CON, significant increases in interpolated power output (P-SIT,P<0.001; ET,P=0.012; A-SIT,P=0.041) and test duration (P-SIT,P=0.001; ET,P=0.012; A-SIT,P=0.046) occurred after training. Final VO2consumption was increased after P-SIT only (P<0.001). Despite >90% exercise compliance, there was no change in whole-body or visceral fat mass or plasma inflammation (P>0.05).Conclusion. In sedentary middle-aged men, SIT was a time-effective alternative to ET in facilitating conditioning responses yet was ineffective in altering body composition and plasma inflammation, and compared to passive recovery, evidenced diminished conditioning responses when employing active recovery.


Diabetologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Bucci ◽  
Anna C. Karmi ◽  
Patricia Iozzo ◽  
Barbara A. Fielding ◽  
Antti Viljanen ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong-Ying Li ◽  
Xue-Song Li ◽  
Li Shao ◽  
Zhi-yuan Wu ◽  
Wen-Hua Du ◽  
...  

Although circulating ghrelin levels correlate inversely with adiposity at baseline, little is known about the effect of percent visceral adipose tissue value (PVATV) on ghrelin expression and secretion in response to fasting. Our study demonstrated that ghrelin increased with 24-h fasting in rats with the lowest PVATV (less than 6%), after 3 days in rats with intermediate PVATV (6–9%) and 5 days in rats with the highest PVATV (greater than 9%). Ghrelin mRNA in the stomach was increased after 3 days in low-PVATV (5.8±0.9%) rats but not in high-PVATV (14±1.6%) rats. Therefore, both ghrelin secretion and mRNA were delayed in response to fasting in rats with increased visceral fat. In rats matched for PVATV, but with different body weights, the fasting induced similar levels of increased ghrelin while in rats with different PVATV ghrelin secretion was different in response to fasting, even when body weights were matched in two groups. These data suggested that the initial PVATV, not lean mass, was related to the pattern of plasma ghrelin in response to fasting in rats.


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