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PubMedDate not supplied

Body fat distribution as a risk factor for coronary artery atherosclerosis in female cynomolgus monkeys.

Central fat deposition is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality in women. Subcutaneous fat distribution was investigated as a potential factor that might exacerbate diet-induced coronary artery atherosclerosis (CAA) in female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) which share with North American Caucasian women a gender-related protection against CAA. In a retrospective necropsy study (n = 36), the distribution of the antemortem ratio of subscapular/triceps skinfold thickness was divided at the mean and the two resulting groups were designated high and low for this variable. CAA was quantified as the mean cross-sectional intimal area based on nine coronary artery sections. The extent of CAA was significantly greater in the high skinfold ratio group as compared to the low skinfold ratio group. Ponderosity was closely associated with the skinfold ratio but was not a useful predictor of CAA. These findings suggest that female cynomolgus macaques may provide a primate model of the health consequences of regional fat distribution in women.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1992

Body fat distribution and peripheral insulin sensitivity in healthy men: role of insulin pulsatility.

Abdominal fat distribution is associated with insulin resistance in healthy young men. Factors modulating this phenomenon remain unclear. Pulsatile insulin release has been implicated as a potential regulator of insulin action. The relationship of pulsatility of peripheral insulin levels to fat distribution and peripheral insulin sensitivity was examined in 10 healthy men. Fat distribution was determined by the waist to hip ratio. Peripheral insulin sensitivity was assessed by the euglycemic clamp at an insulin infusion rate of 287 pmol/min.m2. Pulsatility of insulin was assessed by sampling every 2 min for 90 min in the basal state. The characteristics of insulin pulses were assessed by the computer program Pulsar. The waist to hip ratio was negatively associated with insulin sensitivity (r = -0.70, P less than 0.05) and insulin pulse interval (r = -0.66, P less than 0.05). The insulin pulse interval was positively correlated with peripheral insulin sensitivity (r = 0.73, P less than 0.05). The insulin interpulse interval was the primary determinant of insulin sensitivity. The increased frequency of insulin pulses may play a role in inducing insulin resistance in individuals with abdominal fat distribution.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1996

Body fat distribution in South Asian women and children.

OBJECTIVE: To compare levels of abdominal fatness in South Asian and European mothers and children. SUBJECTS: 49 mothers and children from South Asian backgrounds and 63 mothers and children from European backgrounds who took part in a study on family health behaviours. MEASUREMENTS: Anthropometric measures and abdominal fatness indices, including WHR and conicity. RESULTS: Asian mothers were shorter, and lighter than European mothers, but had a higher WHR and a higher conicity. Among children, boys had a higher WHR and conicity than girls but there were no ethnic differences in fat distribution. CONCLUSION: Different patterns of fat distribution were observed in South Asian and European women, with South Asian women having a relatively large waist circumference, relative either to hip circumference (WHR) or to overall size (conicity). Sex differences in fat distribution, but not ethnic differences, were observed in the children. This suggests that the adult patterns of fat distribution may not be established at this stage.

Abdomen↗
PubMed2004

Hemostatic risk factors and insulin sensitivity, regional body fat distribution, and the metabolic syndrome.

Disturbances in the thrombotic and fibrinolytic systems are a feature of insulin resistance, obesity, and the metabolic syndrome. However, there are few studies in which these relationships have been explored in mainly asymptomatic individuals using sophisticated measures of insulin sensitivity and regional adiposity. Variables of the hemostatic system were measured in 106 men (aged 32-68 yr; body mass index, 20-34 kg/m(2)). Insulin sensitivity was measured by minimal model analysis and regional adiposity by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Clustering of intercorrelated variables was assessed by the statistical technique of factor analysis. Plasma levels of procoagulant factors VII and X, anticoagulant proteins C and S, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 correlated positively with total and percent central body fat (r = 0.25-0.38; P < 0.05) and negatively with insulin sensitivity (except protein S; r = -0.24 to -0.35; P < 0.05). On factor analysis, procoagulant factors VII and X, proteins C and S, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 were components of the cluster of variables that explained the greatest proportion of the variance in the data (39.2%). Other variables included in this cluster were those typical of the metabolic syndrome and also serum gamma-glutamyl transferase activity. These results suggest that factors VII and X and proteins C and S are features of the intercorrelated disturbances of the metabolic syndrome. Associations with adiposity and liver enzyme activity suggest the involvement of hepatic fat deposition.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1999

Psychosocial and socio-economic factors in women and their relationship to obesity and regional body fat distribution.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal obesity, as well as psychosocial and socio-economic handicaps are risk factors for serious, prevalent diseases. Connections between these variables have been found in men. OBJECTIVE: The principal aim of the present study was to analyse the associations between psychosocial and socioeconomic factors with body mass index (BMI) and the waist-to-hip circumference ratio (WHR) in women. DESIGN: A cohort study of data derived from questionnaires. SUBJECTS: 1137 women from a population sample of 1464 women born in 1956. MEASUREMENTS: Occupational, social and leisure time conditions, smoking and alcohol habits, as well as height, weight and waist and hip circumferences. RESULTS: BMI was associated with teetotalism and negatively to wine drinking. WHR correlated directly with cigarette smoking and negatively with consumption of wine and beer. Both BMI and WHR, adjusted for each other and for smoking and alcohol, showed independent associations with low education, unemployment and problems at work when employed, as well as with little physical activity and much TV-watching. In addition, the WHR showed a negative, independent relationship to housing conditions. CONCLUSION: These observations suggest psychosocial and socio-economic handicaps as well as a low physical activity in abdominally obese women. Similar observations have been made previously in men, but only with the WHR, suggesting an influence of obesity in these relationships in women only. Another interesting gender difference is the positive relationship between being married with BMI in men, as well as being divorced and living alone with the WHR in men only.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2002

Body fat distribution, insulin sensitivity, ovarian dysfunction and serum lipoproteins in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by various endocrine and metabolic abnormalities, whose mutual associations and symptoms are still not clear. In the present study, fifteen PCOS patients and fifteen controls, matched for age and body weight, were investigated. Endocrine profiles were evaluated by the nafarelin and the adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) test. Insulin sensitivity was determined by an intravenous insulin tolerance test. Patients showed a significant predominance of abdominal adiposity [waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), 0.86 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.79 +/- 0.04] with markedly higher fasting insulin levels (+75%) and reduced insulin sensitivity (-37%). Fasting insulin, testosterone and free androgen index were positively correlated with the body mass index (BMI). In contrast, insulin sensitivity and BMI were inversely correlated in patients only. In the nafarelin test increases of 17-OH-progesterone and androstenedione were higher in patients and positively correlated with fasting insulin levels. Lipoprotein profiles showed trends towards higher triglycerides, lower HDL-cholesterol and a preponderance of small, dense LDL in patients. In PCOS higher triglycerides and lower HDL cholesterol were correlated with insulin sensitivity. It is concluded that PCOS patients show metabolic abnormalities combined with a more adroid type of adiposity when compared to cyclic controls of similar BMI.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗
PubMed1999

Implications of body fat distribution in an older twin population.

BACKGROUND: As people age, fat becomes preferentially deposited in the abdominal region over the periphery, and such changes are thought to be associated with adverse metabolic outcomes. We were interested in whether body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR) are differentially associated with fasting insulin levels, triglycerides, and blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) in an older population. We were also interested in whether these associations change after controlling for genetic influences. METHODS: Data were obtained as part of the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. All blood samples and anthropometric measures were assessed from 1989-1991 except insulin, which was assessed from 1986-1988. The sample contains 263 twin pairs (97 monozygotic and 166 dizygotic), 56% women, average age 65 years. RESULTS: In men and women, WHR and BMI were significantly associated with all the metabolic variables except for diastolic blood pressure. When BMI's association with the metabolic variables was assessed independent of WHR, it remained significantly associated with all metabolic variables except diastolic blood pressure in men and triglycerides in women. When WHR's association with the metabolic variables was assessed independent of BMI, it did not remain significantly associated with any of the metabolic variables in men and remained significantly associated with insulin and diastolic pressure in women. After controlling for genetic effects, the relationship between WHR and the metabolic variables became nonsignificant. However, BMI remained significantly associated with systolic blood pressure and triglycerides in men, independent of WHR. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that overall body fat is important to consider in relation to these metabolic parameters in older individuals. The results also suggest that BMI may share associations with blood pressure and triglycerides beyond those that can be attributed to familial influences.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Different body-fat distributions in IDDM and NIDDM.

Stepwise logistic regression was used for the analysis of the following anthropometric parameters in 146 adult patients with diabetes: waist/hips ratio, waist/thighs ratio, ratio of the arms-to-thighs circumferences, and ratio of the subscapular-to-triceps skinfolds. After adjustment for age and body mass index, only the waist/thighs ratio was found to have an independent discriminating value between insulin-dependent (IDDM) and non-insulin-dependent (NIDDM) diabetic patients. The correlation of type of diabetes with the waist/thighs ratio was especially strong in women, exceeding even the role of age and body mass index. Other anthropometric parameters were related to type of diabetes through their correlation with waist/thighs ratio and had no independent discriminating value. The study shows that IDDM and NIDDM belong to different anthropometric types, which probably reflects their different pathogenesis.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1995

Association of body mass index and body fat distribution with risk of lung cancer in older women.

Obesity has been associated with an increased risk of cancer at a number of sites. A notable exception appears to be lung cancer, for which several studies suggest a modest inverse association. However, cigarette smoking is directly associated with lung cancer and inversely associated with body mass index. To investigate the hypothesis that body mass index is associated with lung cancer independent of cigarette smoking, the authors analyzed data from a prospective cohort study of 41,837 Iowa women aged 55-69 years at baseline in 1986. In addition, they examined whether central adiposity (high waist/hip ratio) was associated with lung cancer incidence. Through 1992 (6 years of follow-up), 233 cases of lung cancer were identified through the State Health Registry of Iowa. The body mass index at several ages was calculated from self-reports of height at baseline and weights at ages 18, 30, 40, and 50 years and at baseline. Current and former smokers generally had lower mean body mass indices than did nonsmokers at all ages except 18 years. Cases generally had lower body mass indices than did noncases at all ages except 18 and 30 years but, among current smokers, cases had higher mean body mass indices than did noncases at all ages except baseline, although the differences were not statistically significant. An apparent positive association of a high waist/hip ratio with lung cancer in the total cohort was found to be primarily accounted for by a higher waist/hip ratio in current and former smokers. When stratified by smoking status and adjusted for other risk factors, including age and pack-years of smoking, the body mass index at baseline, body mass index at age 50 years, and waist/hip ratio were not associated with lung cancer. The results of multivariate analyses suggest that the inverse association of body mass index with lung cancer can be explained by smoking status and that the positive association of waist/hip ratio with lung cancer can be explained by pack-years of smoking.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1998

Psychiatric ill-health of women and its relationship to obesity and body fat distribution.

OBJECTIVE: Abdominal obesity is associated with serious, prevalent diseases. Previously, psychiatric symptoms and ill-health has been found in this condition in men. The results of a similar study in women is reported herein. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A cohort of 1464 women, aged 40 years and recruited by systematic sampling, was examined (77.7% participation rate). Items regarding use of anxiolytics, hypnotics, and antidepressive drugs were registered, as well as symptoms of dyspepsia, sleeping disturbances, melancholy, and degree of life satisfaction. Smoking and alcohol consumption, as well as self-measured weight, height, waist, and hip circumferences, were reported, from which body mass index [BMI; weight (kg)/height2 (m2), kg/m2] and the waist/hip circumference ratio (WHR) were calculated. RESULTS: In bivariate analyses, BMI was associated with use of anxiolytics, antidepressive drugs, various sleeping disturbances, and a low degree of life satisfaction. After controlling for the WHR, alcohol, and tobacco use in multivariate analysis, the associations between BMI and use of anxiolytics and sleeping disturbances remained significant. The WHR correlated with dyspepsia, sleeping problems, and use of antidepressive drugs. After adjustments for BMI, smoking, and alcohol, the relationship to dyspepsia and antidepressants remained significant. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that elevated BMI (obesity) and elevated WHR (central fat distribution) are associated in different ways with symptoms of psychiatric ill-health in women. Obesity alone shows no such relationships to psychiatric ill-health in men, whereas central fat distribution shows independent associations to all of the measured variables studied in this report in women, suggesting gender differences in these associations.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[The effects of body fat distribution on glucose tolerance in overweight subjects: glucose intolerance and insulin resistance induced by intra-abdominal fat accumulation].

To evaluate the pathophysiological significance of intra-abdominal fat accumulation in Japanese subjects with mild to moderate overweight, 107 subjects (56 men and 51 women, aged 16-68 years) with body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) of 17-39 (mean +/- SD, 25 +/- 4.3) were evaluated. Subjects with disorders which affect glucose metabolism, such as thyroid, adrenal, liver, and kidney diseases, were excluded. A 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed in all subjects, and venous samples were obtained before 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min after the glucose load for plasma glucose (PG), immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and C-peptide immunoreactivity (CPR) measurements. In 72 of the subjects, plasma free fatty acid (FFA) level at fasting was also determined. The degree of visceral fat accumulation was evaluated using a CT-scan by the method reported by Fujioka et al. (Metabolism, 36: 54-59, 1987), and intra-abdominal fat area/subcutaneous fat area (V/S ratio) was obtained. V/S ratio and BMI correlated positively in subjects with BMI less than 25 (17 men and 16 women, aged 28-62 years) but they did not correlate at all with each other in those with BMI greater than or equal to 25 (39 men and 35 women, aged 16-68 years). Based on this finding, the possible adverse effects of increased intra-abdominal fat on glucose metabolism were investigated in the subjects with BMI greater than or equal to 25. For this purpose, the correlation of V/S ratio with fasting PG (FPG), fasting IRI (FIRI), fasting CPR (FCPR), FPG/FIRI, FFA, or PG area (sigma PG) and sigma PG/sigma IRI at OGTT was analyzed. V/S ratio positively correlated with FPG, sigma PG, FPG/FIRI and sigma PG/sigma IRI but not with FFA. The correlation between V/S ratio and FIRI or FCPR was significant in the subjects with V/S ratio greater than or equal to 0.8 in men and greater than or equal to 0.4 in women. In sharp contrast to V/S ratio, BMI did not correlate at all with any of these metabolic indices. We conclude that in Japanese subjects with mild overweight to moderate obesity, intra-abdominal fat accumulation, but not the increase in the degree of obesity, accompanies worsening of glucose tolerance. Because PG elevation relative to IRI secretion is progressively greater with increasing V/S ratio, it is suggested that the deleterious effects of intra-abdominal fat accumulation can be attributed to increased insulin resistance.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1993

The independent effects of obesity and body fat distribution on blood pressure in black adults: the Pitt County study.

The relationship of obesity measures to blood pressure and hypertension prevalence was assessed in a community probability sample of 25-50-year-old black adults (1101 women and 655 men) who were examined in 1988 in Pitt County, North Carolina. Among black women, both body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio had independent relationships with systolic and diastolic blood pressures and hypertension prevalence after controlling for the effects of age, socio-economic status, physical activity, alcohol, and the other obesity measure (P < 0.05). Body mass index also had independent relationships with blood pressure levels and hypertension prevalence in black men (P < 0.05), while waist-to-hip ratio was associated with hypertension prevalence (P = 0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.05), but not with systolic blood pressure. The relationships of waist-to-hip ratio with blood pressure and hypertension prevalence were considerably reduced in both sex groups after controlling for body mass index. This study presents new evidence that waist-to-hip ratio is related to hypertension and blood pressure level independent of body mass index, in young to middle-aged black adult women and men.

Abdomen↗
PubMed2004

Correlation of blood sex steroid hormones with body size, body fat distribution, and other known risk factors for breast cancer in post-menopausal Chinese women.

OBJECTIVE: Estrogen plays a central role in breast cancer. It has been suggested that many known breast cancer risk factors may exert their effect via levels of endogenous sex hormones. The objective of this analysis is to evaluate the association between measures of body size, dietary macronutrient intake, and reproductive factors with levels of endogenous sex hormones among women living in Shanghai, China. METHODS: Included in this study were 420 post-menopausal healthy women randomly selected from the general population as controls who participated in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study, a population-based case-control study conducted in Shanghai, China between 1996 and 1998. Comprehensive dietary and reproductive information was collected using a structured questionnaire during an in-person interview and anthropometrics were measured by trained interviewers according to a standard protocol. Hormone levels were log-transformed and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the correlation between hormone levels and selected breast cancer risk factors. RESULTS: Measures of body size were strongly correlated with hormone levels. In particular, weight, waist circumference, and hip circumference were significantly positively correlated (p < 0.05) with levels of testosterone, estradiol, estrone, and significantly negatively correlated with sex hormone binding globulin. Macronutrient intake and reproductive factors were not correlated with endogenous sex hormone levels. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that breast cancer risk associated with measures of body size may be mediated, at least partially, by levels of endogenous sex hormones.

Adult↗