OBJECTIVE: To investigate the link between visceral fat (V) accumulation and physical fitness. DESIGN: Cross-sectional clinical investigation study. SUBJECTS: Twenty-eight overweight Japanese women with abdominal obesity (abdominal obesity) (body mass index, BMI>or=25, visceral fat area>or=100 cm2) aged 38-65 years (BMI 29.5+/-3.3 kg/m2) were enrolled in this study. They were compared ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between the amount and patterns of physical activity (PA), body fatness, and age in a heterogeneous adult population in the free living. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of the amount of PA over a 1-week period. The amount of body movements during PA (PA counts*10(3)) and time ...

Fat redistribution associated with the use of antiretroviral therapy, which has been broadly termed 'lipodystrophy', incorporates distinct body composition changes including lipoatrophy (subcutaneous fat loss) as well as fat accumulation. This review examines the role of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) therapy in the overall context of lipodystrophy, providing converging ...

A number of methods exist for the estimation of abdominal obesity, ranging from waist-to-hip ratio to computed tomography (CT). Although dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was originally used to measure bone density and total body composition, recent improvements in software allow it to determine abdominal fat mass. Sixty-five men and women ...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a hypocaloric diet with and without exercise training is effective in reducing plasma C-reactive protein, IL-6, TNFalpha, and their soluble receptors (sIL-6R, sTNFR1, and sTNFR2), and whether changes in these inflammatory markers are related to changes in regional lipolysis in obese ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The relationships between C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, adipose tissue and metabolic alterations have not been clearly established in healthy non-obese subjects. We investigated the relationships between body fat, CRP levels and metabolic variables in healthy, non-obese sons of patients affected by metabolic syndrome (MS). METHODS AND RESULTS: ...

Abdominal and subcutaneous fat are regarded as the main sources of waste in the slaughterhouse. Fat stored intramuscularly is regarded a favorite trait related to meat quality. The objective of current study was to estimate genetic parameters for fat deposition in the 3 different parts of body and their relationships ...

OBJECTIVE: We tested the following hypotheses in black and white men and women: 1) for a given BMI or waist circumference (WC), individuals with moderate cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) have lower amounts of total fat mass and abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat compared with individuals with low CRF; and 2) exercise ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate decrease in waist circumference in obese patients receiving different anti-obesity treatments. The study was designed as a short-term (12 weeks), open-label, and randomized trial. Eighty six patients (70 females, 81.4%; mean age 41.09+/-8.73 years, mean BMI 36.1+/-4.3 kg/m2) were randomized to four ...

We tested the hypothesis that muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) would not differ in subcutaneously obese (SUBOB) and nonobese (NO) men with similar levels of abdominal visceral fat despite higher plasma leptin concentrations in the former. We further hypothesized that abdominal visceral fat would be the strongest body composition- or ...

Background: The threatening health problems resulting from excess subcutaneous fat depositions have been reported by the world Health Organization. Also noteworthy is that childhood obesity is a pointer to adult obesity. This necessitated a study on the anthropometrical profiles of adolescents of Southeast Nigeria using different methods of determination of ...

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) and leptin concentrations were determined in the abdominal subcutaneous and visceral (omental) adipose tissue of patients undergoing elective open-abdominal surgery and compared with their body mass index. The concentration of leptin did not differ significantly between women and men, being high in subcutaneous fat tissue ...

Genetic factors, alone or in interaction with components of the diet, are thought to be involved in the development of the metabolic syndrome. The objective of our study was first to compare the frequency of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha-L162V polymorphism in a sample of men with and without the ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between weight cycling and some cardiovascular risk factors in a wide sample of obese subjects. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with retrospective evaluation of weight and dieting history. SUBJECTS: In all, 459 obese subjects, 340 women and 119 men (age: 19-65 y; BMI: 30-69 kg/m2). MEASUREMENTS: Body ...

The Metabolic Syndrome encompasses a set of laboratory and physical findings, including central adiposity, insulin resistance, hypertension, high triglycerides, and low HDL-cholesterol and several abnormalities in clotting and inflammatory markers. Using the definition provided by the Adult Treatment Panel III of the National Cholesterol Education Program, 24% of adult Americans ...

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that the greater beta-adrenoceptor (beta-AR)-stimulated lipolysis and sensitivity (half-maximal lipolytic response) in abdominal (ABD) adipocytes, greater gluteal (GLT) adipose tissue-lipoprotein lipase (AT-LPL) activity, and dyslipidemia associated with obesity in older women are modifiable by weight loss (WL) and are not due to menopause or aging. ...

A group of 14 healthy female subjects was studied using MRI during 2 months of life-style intervention. A series of 21 water-suppressed images was used to determine the intra-abdominal fat volume before and after the controlled loss of weight. The average weight decrease was 8.2 %, but the average relative ...

Female European eels were kept in artificial seawater for a trial period of 14 weeks. Three fish were injected intra-abdominally with carp pituitary suspension (twice a week) and human chorionic gonadotropin (every 2nd week), with the aim to induce artificial maturation. Three further fish were not treated (control). Fish were ...

Long-term feeding of tea catechins suppressed body fat accumulation in high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice, and that their effects might be attributed, at least in part, to the activation of hepatic lipid metabolism. Consecutive intake of tea catechins (588 mg/day) reduced body fat, especially abdominal fat in humans. These results ...

Reports of relationships between measures of insulin sensitivity and measures of body fat and fat distribution suggest that abdominal fat accumulation is a predictor of insulin resistance. It has been previously suggested that facial fat (primarily in the cheeks and neck) is strongly associated with visceral abdominal fat accumulation. The ...

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have found an association between overweight and increased mortality arising primarily from cardiovascular disorders. A major determinant is a chronically raised sympathetic nervous system activity which can arise from calorie intake-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Calorie-dependent parameters reflecting sympathetic overactivity are an increased body fat mass and body ...

OBJECTIVE: Our aims were to describe the abdominal fat distribution in male patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) on computerised tomography (CT), to compare our findings with non-cushingoid patients, to validate previous reports of increased visceral fat in female patients with CS and to identify any correlations between fat distribution and ...

Visceral fat accumulation is accompanied by several metabolic disorders. Here, we investigate the improvement of visceral fat accumulation in the early phase of diet. Hyperlipidemic obese patients received a low-calorie diet (1000 kcal/day) for 14 days. Visceral and subcutaneous fat accumulation was analyzed using ultrasonography. After 14 days of the ...

In HIV patients, chronic treatment with protease inhibitors often precipitates a peripheral lipodystrophy associated with insulin resistance syndrome and premature coronary disease. In vitro studies demonstrate that these drugs can compromise the ability of adipocytes to store triglycerides; in vivo, peripheral subcutaneous adipocytes appear to be most affected, such that ...

We assessed the effects of intake of thiamin, arginine, caffeine, and citric acid (TACC) on lipid metabolism in healthy subjects. Thirty-one subjects with high percent body fat (> or = 25.0%) were randomly assigned to a 12-wk intervention with daily intake of TACC-supplemented tea (1.1, 1240, 52, and 540 mg, ...

We examined relationships among alcohol intake, dietary fat composition, and total body fat (TBF) and central abdominal fat (CAF), independent of genetic confounders, and evaluated the modulating effect of genetic susceptibility. We studied 334 female twins (57.7 +/- 6.7 yr) after excluding dietary underreporters. Diet was assessed by Food-Frequency Questionnaire ...

The purpose of the study was to examine whether insulin sensitivity was associated with fasting plasma ghrelin concentrations in a population-based sample of 58-year-old clinically healthy Caucasian men. The methods used were dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for measurement of body composition and a conventional euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp, measuring glucose infusion ...

OBJECTIVE: Insulin resistance is associated with visceral adiposity, and interventions that reduce this depot, e.g., diet and exercise, improve insulin resistance. Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) also improve insulin action but paradoxically increase total fat mass, perhaps through remodeling (recruitment of smaller fat cells) and redistribution of adipose tissue. We assessed the effects ...

In Cushing's syndrome, cortisol causes fat accumulation in specific sites most likely to be associated with insulin resistance, notably in omental adipose and also perhaps in the liver. In idiopathic obesity, cortisol-metabolizing enzymes may play a key role in determining body fat distribution. Increased regeneration of cortisol from cortisone within ...

Adolescents and young women with menstrual irregularities and hyperinsulinemic hyperandrogenism, so-called polycystic ovary syndrome, have abnormalities in body composition, even when nonobese. The combination of flutamide (125-250 mg/d) and metformin has additive benefits on endocrine- metabolic indices in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. However, it is unknown whether this combination ...

It has been noted since the earliest European contact that Polynesian body shape and size differ from those of Europeans. The muscular build of Polynesians, such as Tongans, raises questions as to the accuracy of simple anthropometric indicators, validated for use in European populations, in Polynesians. Body mass index (BMI), ...

Several studies carried out in the last 50 years on body fat in adult man are reported. Firstly, the terminology is clarified, then the new values of the density of fat extracted from adipose tissue from human and some laboratory and domestic animals are presented. The density of subcutaneous and ...

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) is a critical regulator of adipogenesis. PPAR gamma+/- mice are resistant to high-fat diet-induced obesity and thus PPAR gamma may mediate physiological responses to dietary fat in other mammals. The aim of this study was to determine whether the human PPAR gamma proline ...

Visceral obesity represents an important risk factor associated with hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Since this condition is associated with a disruption of the functioning of the HPA axis, stress-induced HPA axis activation has been identified to play an important role in this preferential body fat accumulation. HPA axis activation ...

OBJECTIVES: The role of adipsin and adipsin Hinc II polymorphisms on the metabolic and body composition changes in response to overfeeding was studied. SUBJECTS: A total of 12 pairs of male monozygotic twins ate a 4.2 MJ/day energy surplus, 6 days a week, during a period of 100 days. RESULTS: ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on weight, abdominal fat distribution, and fasting lipid levels in Japanese postmenopausal women (PMW). DESIGN: Prospective, 12-month-controlled clinical comparison of women with and without HRT. SUBJECTS: In all, 35 PMW with HRT (conjugated estrogens, 0.625 mg daily; medroxyprogesterone acetate, 2.5 ...

OBJECTIVE: To disclose the possible relationship between habitual tea consumption and changes in total body fat and fat distribution in humans. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A cross-sectional survey of 1,210 epidemiologically sampled adults (569 men and 641 women) were enrolled in our study. Tea consumption and other lifestyle characteristics were ...

OBJECTIVE: Trp64Arg mutation in the beta(3)-adrenergic receptor (beta(3)AR) gene is relatively common in Japanese people. However, it has not been clear whether persons with Trp64Arg mutation in the beta(3)AR gene tend to have obesity and difficulty in losing weight even with a restricted diet and exercise. We investigated the response ...

Skeletal muscle insulin resistance entails dysregulation of both glucose and fatty acid metabolism. This study examined whether a combined intervention of physical activity and weight loss influences fasting rates of fat oxidation and insulin-stimulated glucose disposal. Obese (BMI >30 kg/m(2)) volunteers (9 men and 16 women) without diabetes, aged 39 ...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between intra-abdominal-obesity susceptibility and the adaptation of skeletal muscle metabolic and histochemical characteristics when fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for a short period of time. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were fed a HFD (39.7% calories of fat) for 5 ...

The authors describe the results of fat thickness patterning of the abdominal sites in 50 patients, all of whom required breast reconstruction with a transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap. The thickness of the abdominal fat was measured at 12 anatomic locations with an ultrasonic instrument. The highest value of the ...

OBJECTIVE: The relative influence of dietary factors vs physical activity on cardiovascular risk factors are poorly understood. We investigated these factors in a population whose traditional diet may have both positive (high plant-based) and negative (high refined carbohydrate) aspects, and whose physical activity levels (PALs) vary widely. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. ...

Male and female preadolescents and adolescents who participated in phase 1 of the Québec Family Study, and who were retested about 12 yr later, were recruited and subdivided on the basis of a genetic variant within the intron 2 of the glucocorticoid receptor (GRL IVS2-BclI). The increase in sc adiposity ...

BACKGROUND: Studies of regional fat distribution in adults with anorexia nervosa (AN) have shown decreased extremity fat at baseline and increased trunk fat with weight recovery, resulting in truncal adiposity. Little is known about fat distribution in adolescents with AN, especially with weight recovery. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether ...

OBJECTIVE: Insulin resistance decreases blood flow and volume in fat tissue. We hypothesised that fat tissue nutritive blood flow and volume, and thereby water content, would increase during weight loss and weight maintenance in obese persons. DESIGN: Longitudinal clinical intervention with a 9-week very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) followed by one year ...

OBJECTIVE: Sex differences are found in most components of the insulin resistance syndrome and the associated cardiovascular risk profile. These differences are attributed to sex-specific sex steroid profiles, but the effects of sex steroids on the individual components of the insulin resistance syndrome remain incompletely understood. DESIGN: Prospective, intervention study. ...

We investigated whether the Arg16Gly and Gln27Glu polymorphisms of the beta2-adrenergic receptor gene were associated with body-fat and fat-distribution phenotypes measured before and in response to a 20-week endurance-training program. BMI, fat mass (FAT), percentage of body fat (%FAT), sum of eight skinfolds (SF8), and abdominal fat areas assessed by ...

Lipodystrophy with increased intra-abdominal fat in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is common in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. It contributes to the metabolic derangements, as it does in non-HIV-related conditions. Growth hormone administration reduces intra-abdominal fat content. This study compared the relative changes in omental-mesenteric (OMAT) and ...

Changes in body fat in persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have been associated with deleterious changes in blood lipids and insulin resistance, raising concern that these changes will increase the risk for accelerated atherosclerosis. Changes in body fat are often identified in advanced disease but may also ...

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has dramatically reduced HIV-related mortality, but is associated with severe metabolic adverse events, such as lipodystrophy and insulin resistance, the mechanisms of which are unknown. Adiponectin is a adipocytokine that is decreased in insulin resistant conditions. In mice, adiponectin decreases liver and muscle fat content ...