Lifestyle-intervention-induced reduction of abdominal fat is reflected by a decreased circulating glycerol level and an increased HDL diameter

SCOPEAbdominal obesity is one of the main modifiable risk factors of age-related cardiometabolic disease. Cardiometabolic disease risk and its associated high abdominal fat mass, high cholesterol and glucose concentrations can be reduced by a healthier lifestyle. Hence, our aim is to understand the relation between lifestyle-induced changes in body composition, and specifically abdominal fat, and accompanying changes in circulating metabolic biomarkers.Methods and resultsWe used the data from the Growing Old Together (GOTO) study, in which 164 older adults (mean age 63 years, BMI 23-35 kg/m2) changed their lifestyle during 13 weeks by 12.5% caloric restriction plus 12.5% increase in energy expenditure. We show that levels of circulating metabolic biomarkers, even after adjustment for body mass index, specifically associate with abdominal fat mass. Next, we show that the applied lifestyle intervention mainly reduces abdominal fat mass (−2.6%, SD=3.0) and that this reduction, when adjusted for general weight loss, is highly associated with decreased circulating glycerol concentrations and increased HDL diameter.ConclusionsThe lifestyle-induced reduction of abdominal fat mass is particularly associated, independent of body mass index or general weight loss, with associated with decreased circulating glycerol concentrations and increased HDL diameter.

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Waist Circumference Adjusted for Body Mass Index and Intra-Abdominal Fat Mass

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0032213 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. e32213 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Tina Landsvig Berentzen ◽

Lars Ängquist ◽

Anna Kotronen ◽

Ronald Borra ◽

Hannele Yki-Järvinen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Waist Circumference ◽

Body Mass ◽

Fat Mass ◽

Abdominal Fat

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Adiposity-independent sympathetic activity in black men

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.00058.2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 108 (6) ◽

pp. 1613-1618 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Aamer Abbas ◽

Lidia S. Szczepaniak ◽

Meryem Tuncel ◽

Jonathan M. McGavock ◽

Beverley Huet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Weight Loss ◽

Black Women ◽

Black Men ◽

Body Mass ◽

Sympathetic Activity ◽

Abdominal Fat ◽

New Findings ◽

Visceral Abdominal Fat ◽

Plasma Leptin

Obesity is thought to lead to sympathetic overactivity as a compensatory adjustment to weight gain. However, most of the experimental support for the hypothesis has been derived from white cohorts. Our previous study in blacks indicated that sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) is closely correlated with body mass index only in women, whereas, in black men, SNA is elevated and dissociated from adiposity (Abate et al., Hypertension 38: 379–383, 2001). To further determine whether total and regional adiposity are determinants of SNA in blacks, we performed a prospective weight loss study in 12 normotensive obese black men and 9 obese black women. SNA, body mass index, and abdominal fat mass were measured before and 16 wk after hypocaloric diet. The major new findings are that, in obese black men, the dietary-induced weight loss of 11.3 ± 0.8 kg resulted in reduction in plasma leptin, insulin, and visceral abdominal fat but had no effect on SNA (from baseline of 26 ± 4 to 28 ± 3 bursts/min, P = not significant). In contrast, in black women, weight loss of 8.0 ± 0.9 kg caused similar reductions in plasma leptin, insulin, and visceral abdominal fat and led to a reduction in SNA by 40% (from baseline of 22 ± 2 to 13 ± 3 bursts/min, P < 0.05). In conclusion, these new data from this prospective study provide strong support for a major adiposity-independent sympathetic activity in black men and adiposity-related sympathetic activity in black women.

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