Objective: Serial measurements were used to examine the response of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors to regional fat changes during weight reduction.
Methods: Nine Japanese obese men participated in a diet-induced weight loss program. Regional fat masses, abdominal visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area (SFA) and CHD risk factors, including total (TC), high (HDLC)- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), triglycerides (TG), fasting plasma glucose, immunoreactive insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and glycosylated hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) were assessed at baseline and after 1, 2 and 3 months.
Results: Meanweight reduction during the study was -11.9 +/- 4.2 kg, which was associated with a gradual, significant decrease (p < 0.05) in arm, leg and trunk fat masses, VFA and SFA. The levels of TC, LDLC and TG decreased significantly within 1 month and remained at these values, whereas HDLC, HOMA-IR, and HbA(1c) did not change. There was no significant correlation between changes in regional fat masses and CHD risk factors in any period studied.
Conclusions: CHD risk factors do not necessarily respond in the same manner as changes in body fat during diet-induced moderate weight reduction.
2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.