In order to investigate the main areas of fat loss after an 8-week period of energy intake reduction, the distribution of body fat was assessed on 14 females (BMI 27.3+/-0.83 kgm(-2)) (mean +/- SEM), aged 18-22 years. Total body fat was determined by hydrostatic weighing and subcutaneous fat mass and distribution were assessed using ultrasound and waist-hip circumference ratios prior to, and following, an 8-week period during which subjects attempted to reduce their energy intake by about 4.2 MJ day(-1). Subjects lost an average of 2.99+/-0.34 kg (p < 0.001), with greater loss (p < 0.001) of internal fat (1.5+/-0.2 kg) than of subcutaneous fat (0.7+/-0.1). Subjects reduced their waist-hip ratio from 0.771+/-0.01 to 0.762+/-0.01 (p < 0.01), their waist circumference from 807+/-24 to 790+/-23 mm (p < 0.001) and their hip circumference from 1047+/-29 to 1037+/-29 mm (p < 0.001). Those with an android distribution of fat (n = 5) lost more weight than those with gynoid distribution (n = 9) (3.80+/-0.38 kg vs 2.54+/-0.14 kg, p < 0.05); they also showed a greater decrease in waist circumference (27+/-5 vs 14+/-4 mm, p < 0.05) and a greater loss from internal fat stores (2.1+/-0.3 kg vs 1.1+/-0.2 kg, p < 0.05). The findings suggest that individuals are prone to lose internal fat during a short period of reduced energy intake. As the visceral fat store is the largest internal fat depot in the body, this suggests that individuals are indeed losing fat that could predispose to upper body obesity.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The neonatal testosterone surge: a comparative study.

In the rat an abrupt discharge of testicular testosterone in the newborn male figures prominently in the development of mechanisms controlling gonadotropin secretion, sexual behavior, and also promotes the functional differentiation of the accessory sex glands. In this study we detail the temporal characteristics of this surge in the rat, and we provide comparative data documenting a similar surge-like appearance of testosterone in neonatal male mice, recently foaled male horses, and newborn human infants. Although the physiological and behavioral significance of this phenomenon for species other than the rat remains to be determined, the apparently ubiquitous appearance of the neonatal testosterone surge suggests that it may be of special significance in the sexual differentiation of many mammalian species.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Gifts to physicians from the pharmaceutical industry.

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Commerce↗