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Query: UMLS:C0028754 (obesity)
 124,988 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Measurement of subcutaneous fat thickness with a skinfold caliper is a simple and inexpensive technique for assessment of body composition, but is influenced by the skin site or the obesity level. The resulting measurement errors may influence the prediction accuracy of body density. We therefore aimed to clarify the characteristics of measurement errors with a skinfold caliper and to determine useful measurement sites for the prediction of body density in Japanese adults of wide-ranging age and obesity levels. The present study included 126 Japanese male and 77 female subjects ranging from 21 to 81 years old. They were divided into a "non-obese group" and an "obese group", based on the Japanese criteria of obesity (BMI > or = 25 kg/m(2)). Subcutaneous fat thickness was measured at 14 sites with a skinfold caliper and ultrasound. Percent body fat was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and body density was calculated using Brozek's formula. Sex and obesity level differences in the measurement error of skinfolds (ultrasound minus skinfold caliper measurements) were examined by 2 x 2 ANOVA (sex and obesity groups) for each site. The relationship between body density and the systematic error was examined. We developed an accurate prediction equation for body density with smaller measurement and systematic errors. Although measurement errors in skinfold thickness tended to increase with increasing obesity levels, the influence was smaller for the abdominal and suprailiac skinfolds compared with other sites. Measurement of suprailiac or abdominal skinfold thickness is useful to accurately estimate body density in Japanese adults.
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PMID:Suprailiac or abdominal skinfold thickness measured with a skinfold caliper as a predictor of body density in Japanese adults. 1778 53

Our study aim is to investigate whether obesity is characterized by an impairment of insulin-mediated vasodilatory effects and by a modification of basal vasomotion in the skin microvasculature. Forty healthy obese and forty healthy lean women were included. Microvascular effects of insulin as compared to a control substance were measured by cathodal iontophoresis combined with laser Doppler flowmetry. Vasomotion was examined by Fourier transform analyses of skin laser Doppler flow at rest. Locally administered insulin, as compared to the control substance, induced a microvascular vasodilatory response in lean (median (interquartile range): 31.6 (17.1-43.9) vs. 22.9 (16.4-36.7) perfusion units, P=0.04), but not in obese women (28.1 (14.4-47.1) vs. 27.5 (17.5-48.2) perfusion units, P=0.7). The relative insulin-induced increase in blood flow corrected for the control substance was higher in lean than obese women (ANOVA for repeated measures F=3.93, P=0.05). The contribution of the total frequency spectrum 0.01-1.6 Hz and of the frequency intervals 0.01-0.02 Hz and 0.02-0.06 Hz (representative of endothelial and neurogenic activity, respectively) to basal microvascular vasomotion was lower in obese than in lean women (P<0.05 for all). These findings show that obesity is characterized by an impaired direct microvascular vasodilatory effect of insulin and by decreased skin microvascular vasomotion in a way that is suggestive for alterations of endothelial and neurogenic activity.
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PMID:Impaired local microvascular vasodilatory effects of insulin and reduced skin microvascular vasomotion in obese women. 1792 Jun 39

The brain regulates all metabolic processes within the organism, and therefore, its energy supply is preserved even during fasting. However, the underlying mechanism is unknown. Here, it is shown, using (31)P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy that during short periods of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, the brain can rapidly increase its high-energy phosphate content, whereas there is no change in skeletal muscle. We investigated the key metabolites of high-energy phosphate metabolism as rapidly available energy stores by (31)P MRS in brain and skeletal muscle of 17 healthy men. Measurements were performed at baseline and during dextrose or insulin-induced hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. During hyperglycemia, phosphocreatine (PCr) concentrations increased significantly in the brain (P = 0.013), while there was a similar trend in the hypopglycemic condition (P = 0.055). Skeletal muscle content remained constant in both conditions (P > 0.1). ANOVA analyses comparing changes from baseline to the respective glycemic plateau in brain (up to +15%) vs. muscle (up to -4%) revealed clear divergent effects in both conditions (P < 0.05). These effects were reflected by PCr/Pi ratio (P < 0.05). Total ATP concentrations revealed the observed divergency only during hyperglycemia (P = 0.018). These data suggest that the brain, in contrast to peripheral organs, can activate some specific mechanisms to modulate its energy status during variations in glucose supply. A disturbance of these mechanisms may have far-reaching implications for metabolic dysregulation associated with obesity or diabetes mellitus.
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PMID:Differential energetic response of brain vs. skeletal muscle upon glycemic variations in healthy humans. 1797 22

A transition of G to A at codon 54 of FABP2 results in an amino acid substitution (Ala54 to Thr54). This polymorphism was associated with some cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of our study was to investigate the influence of Thr54 polymorphism in the FABP2 gene on obesity anthropometric parameters and cardiovascular risk factors. A population of 226 obesity (body mass index >30) nondiabetic outpatients were analyzed. An indirect calorimetry, tetrapolar electrical bioimpedance, blood pressure, a serial assessment of nutritional intake with 3 days of written food records, and biochemical analysis (lipid profile, adipocytokines, insulin, CRP, and lipoprotein-a) were performed. The statistical analysis was performed for the combined ALA54/THR54 and THR54/THR54 as a mutant group and wild type ALA54/ALA54 as a second group. Two-hundred and twenty-six patients gave informed consent and were enrolled in the study. The mean age was 44.2+/-16 years and the mean BMI 35.1+/-5.1, with 63 males (28.3%) and 163 females (71.7%). One-hundred and thirteen patients (50%) had the genotype ALA54/ALA54 (wild group) and 113 (50%) patients had the genotype ALA54/THR54 (91 patients, 40.2%) or THR54/THR54 (22 patients, 9.8%) (mutant group). The ANOVA analysis of the three groups ( ALA54/THR54, THR54/THR54 and ALA54/ALA54) shows a higher levels of fat mass in Thr54/Thr54 group (45.6+/-14.6 kg) than Ala54/Ala54 (37.5+/-11.2 kg: p<0.05), without differences with Ala54/Thr54 group (41.2+/-13.5 kg). CRP, IL-6, and lipoprotein-a were higher in mutant group ( ALA54/THR54, THR54/THR54) than in wild group ( ALA54/ALA54). The novel finding of this study is the association of the Thr54/Ala54 and Thr54/Thr54 FABP2 phenotypes with higher levels of C reactive protein, IL6, and lipoprotein-a. Further studies are needed to explain the role of this polymorphism in different populations.
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PMID:Influence of ALA54THR polymorphism of fatty acid-binding protein 2 on obesity and cardiovascular risk factors. 1799 40

BACKGROUND: Brachial artery distensibility (BrachD) was measured in healthy children to identify associations with atherosclerotic risk factors. METHODS: 969 black and white subjects 13-22 years were classified as lean (L) or overweight (O) and hyperinsulinemic (H-I) or normoinsulinemic (N-I). BP and BrachD were obtained with a DynaPulse Pathway instrument. ANOVA was performed looking for group mean differences. Correlations between BrachD and risk variables were examined. Determinates of BrachD were determined by backward elimination regression stratified by BMI-Insulin group. RESULTS: Decreased BrachD correlated with male gender, O, higher BP, HR, fasting glucose and log of fasting insulin after adjusting for pulse pressure (PP). BrachD was greatest in L/N-I with progressive decreases seen in L/H-I, O/N-I, and O/H-I subjects. Regression modeling found PP and HR were major determinates of BrachD. Glucose was significant for subjects with N-I regardless of adiposity. Excluding BP, glucose remained important in N-I subjects. Gender was significant for all. HR retained significance only in O subjects regardless of insulin level. CONCLUSIONS: In healthy adolescents, hyperinsulinemia and obesity adversely affect brachial artery function with overweight contributing to a greater degree. In normoinsulinemic subjects, fasting glucose was inversely related to BrachD. Metabolic factors may play a role in vascular function in youth.
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PMID:Overweight and Hyperinsulinemia Provide Individual Contributions to Compromises in Brachial Artery Distensibility in Healthy Adolescents and Young Adults: Brachial Distensibility in Children. 1843 58

The higher incidence of cardiovascular events in the morning is accompanied by an increased vascular tone. However, there are few published studies designed to evaluate the diurnal variation of vascular and endothelial parameters in healthy subjects. In the present investigation, we evaluated the diurnal variation in brachial artery diameter (BAD), flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and endothelium-independent dilation (NFMD) in a homogeneous sample of healthy non-smoker young men. Fifty subjects aged 20.8 +/- 0.3 years (range: 18 to 25 years) were investigated by brachial artery ultrasound. Exclusion criteria were female gender and evidence of clinically significant health problems, including obesity. Volunteers were asked to rest and avoid fat meals as well as alcoholic beverages 48 h before and until completion of the evaluations. BAD, FMD and NFMD were measured at 7 am, 5 pm, and 10 pm and tested by repeated measures ANOVA. BAD was smaller at 7 am (mean +/- SEM, 3.8 +/- 0.1 mm) in comparison with 5 pm (3.9 +/- 0.1) and 10 pm (4.0 +/- 0.1 mm; P < 0.001). FMD values did not change significantly during the day, while NFMD increased more at 7 am (18.5 +/- 1.1%), when compared to 15.5 +/- 0.9% at 10 pm and 15.5 +/- 0.9% at 5 pm (P = 0.04). The physiological state of vasoconstriction after awakening, with preserved capability to dilate in the morning, should be considered to be part of the healthy cardiovascular adaptation before considering later life risk factors and endothelial dysfunction.
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PMID:Diurnal variation of vascular diameter and reactivity in healthy young men. 1843 93

Unbalanced diets generate oxidative stress commonly associated with the development of diabetes, atherosclerosis, obesity and cancer. Dietary flavonoids have antioxidant properties and may limit this stress and reduce the risk of these diseases. We used a metabolomic approach to study the influence of catechin, a common flavonoid naturally occurring in various fruits, wine or chocolate, on the metabolic changes induced by hyperlipidemic diets. Male Wistar rats ( n = 8/group) were fed during 6 weeks normolipidemic (5% w/w) or hyperlipidemic (15 and 25%) diets with or without catechin supplementation (0.2% w/w). Urines were collected at days 17 and 38 and analyzed by reverse-phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF). Hyperlipidic diets led to a significant increase of oxidative stress in liver and aorta, upon which catechin had no effect. Multivariate analyses (PCA and PLS-DA) of the urine fingerprints allowed discrimination of the different diets. Variables were then classified according to their dependence on lipid and catechin intake (ANOVA). Nine variables were identified as catechin metabolites of tissular or microbial origin. Around 1000 variables were significantly affected by the lipid content of the diet, and 76 were fully reversed by catechin supplementation. Four variables showing an increase in urinary excretion in rats fed the high-fat diets were identified as deoxycytidine, nicotinic acid, dihydroxyquinoline and pipecolinic acid. After catechin supplementation, the excretion of nicotinic acid was fully restored to the level found in the rats fed the low-fat diet. The physiological significance of these metabolic changes is discussed.
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PMID:A liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight (LC-QTOF)-based metabolomic approach reveals new metabolic effects of catechin in rats fed high-fat diets. 1848 65

Overweight and obesity are the most important modulators in the development of chronic diseases. Body weight status in adulthood is often already determined in childhood and adolescence. In this study we evaluate possible threats and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among students of the Kantonsschule Burggraben in St.Gallen. Different anthropometric parameters (e.g. size, weight, circumference of waist and hip, body composition by BIA) were assessed among 552 students and different life-style factors as well as risk factors were assessed with a self-administered questionnaire. Using the IOTF-definitions between 6.12-8.18% of students were overweight and 1.08-2.23% were obese. Male students with the highest media consumption (MC) (around 4 h/d) had a higher BMI (kg/m2) than students with lower MC (around 2 h/d) or the lowest level of MC (approximately 1 h/d) (22.83 +/- 0.46 kg/m2 vs. 21.51 +/- 0.21 kg/m2 and 21.60 +/- 0.39 kg/m2; ANOVA p = 0.008). Similarly body composition was affected: students with the highest media consumption had the highest amount of body-fat mass: 12.69 +/- 0.66% vs. 11.05 +/- 0.34% and 10.69 +/- 0.62% (ANOVA p = 0.026) compared to medium and low MC, respectively. There was no correlation between the BMI, the body fat mass and the MC among female students. According to the level of activity male students with a high level showed a significant lower BMI than students with a lower level of physical activity (21.70 +/- 0.21 kg/m2 vs. 22.05 +/- 0.33 kg/m2; p = 0.016). The body fat mass was also lower for higher levels of physical activity (9.57 +/- 0.65% vs. 12.69 +/- 0.86%). Among female students the level of physical activity modulated the body fat mass (high level 20.66 +/- 0.52% vs. low level 23.53 +/- 0.58; p = 0.005) but had no effect on the BMI. Risk factors for obesity such as physical activity patterns are established in childhood and early adolescence. Preventive strategies have to be implemented as early as possible.
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PMID:[Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Swiss adolescents]. 1854 12

Obesity is a complex, multifactorial disorder that develops from genotype and environmental interactions. The aim of this study is to describe the variability of body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist to height (W/Ht) in adult Polish women, and to determine relationships between these variables and factors such as education, place of residence, smoking and alcohol drinking. The tested group consisted of 10,254 women aged 25-95 years, who voluntarily filled in questionnaires and participated in anthropometric measurements (body height and mass, waist and hip circumferences). The BMI, WHR and W/Ht values were calculated based on these measurements. The participants were differentiated in terms of education, residence and lifestyle (smoking, alcohol drinking). Chi-squared test, product-moment correlations, ANOVA, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and logistic regression with backward elimination were used to evaluate associations between social and lifestyle factors and BMI, WHR and W/Ht. The results confirm (1) the relationship between low social status and the risk of overweight and obesity as observed in developed countries; (2) higher susceptibility to environmental factors such as education, place of residence, smoking and alcohol drinking in younger (premenopausal) women; (3) the usefulness of simple and practical anthropometric indicators such as WHR and W/Ht for the identification of the higher risk of future metabolic diseases in obese people and those with a normal body mass.
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PMID:Body mass index, waist to hip ratio and waist/height in adult Polish women in relation to their education, place of residence, smoking and alcohol consumption. 1867 76

The competitive equilibrium of fatty acid biosynthesis and oxidation in vivo determines porcine subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) and intramuscular fat (IMF) content. Obese and lean-type pig breeds show obvious differences in adipose deposition; however, the molecular mechanism underlying this phenotypic variation remains unclear. We used pathway-focused oligo microarray studies to examine the expression changes of 140 genes associated with meat quality and carcass traits in backfat at five growth stages (1-5 months) of Landrace (a leaner, Western breed) and Taihu pigs (a fatty, indigenous, Chinese breed). Variance analysis (ANOVA) revealed that differences in the expression of 25 genes in Landrace pigs were significant (FDR adjusted permutation, P<0.05) among 5 growth stages. Gene class test (GCT) indicated that a gene-group was very significant between 2 pig breeds across 5 growth stages (P (ErmineJ)<0.01), which consisted of 23 genes encoding enzymes and regulatory proteins associated with lipid and steroid metabolism. These findings suggest that the distinct differences in fat deposition ability between Landrace and Taihu pigs may closely correlate with the expression changes of these genes. Clustering analysis revealed a very high level of significance (FDR adjusted, P<0.01) for 2 gene expression patterns in Landrace pigs and a high level of significance (FDR adjusted, P<0.05) for 2 gene expression patterns in Taihu pigs. Also, expression patterns of genes were more diversified in Taihu pigs than those in Landrace pigs, which suggests that the regulatory mechanism of micro-effect polygenes in adipocytes may be more complex in Taihu pigs than in Landrace pigs. Based on a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) model, gene regulatory networks (GRNs) were reconstructed from time-series data for each pig breed. These two GRNs initially revealed the distinct differences in physiological and biochemical aspects of adipose metabolism between the two pig breeds; from these results, some potential key genes could be identified. Quantitative, real-time RT-PCR (QRT-PCR) was used to verify the microarray data for five modulated genes, and a good correlation between the two measures of expression was observed for both 2 pig breeds at different growth stages (R=0.874+/-0.071). These results highlight some possible candidate genes for porcine fat characteristics and provide some data on which to base further study of the molecular basis of adipose metabolism.
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PMID:Expression profiling analysis for genes related to meat quality and carcass traits during postnatal development of backfat in two pig breeds. 1867


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