Effects of weight loss on adipose visceral and subcutaneous tissue in overweight adults

Abstract

Background & aims: Weight loss is an important strategy for mitigating the complications of obesity. However, weight reduction does not provide detailed information on relative changes in bodily behaviors and in abdominal fat deposits (adipose visceral tissue (AVT) and adipose subcutaneous tissue (AST)). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of weight loss based on calorie restriction on AVT and AST in overweight individuals (1); to verify the metabolic benefits resulting from AVT reduction (2); and to the analyze the influence of covariates in AVT and AST reduction (3).

Methods: Clinical intervention study involving overweight adult patients, seen at a public hospital in the Northeast of Brazil, who underwent three months of calorie restriction. AVT and AST were quantified using computed tomography at the baseline and at the end of a follow up.

Results: 51 patients were evaluated (50.2 ± 11.3 years old), for whom it was verified that a 5.8(±6.2)% weight reduction in the men resulted in a 11.2(±7.9)% reduction in AVT and 6.8(±11.2)% in AST. Among the women, a 4.1(±2.5)% reduction in initial weight resulted in a 11.1(±8.8)% decrease in AVT and 5.6(±7.4)% in AST. Simple linear regression showed that a reduction in AVT caused a 54.9% reduction in triglyceride concentrations in the men and a 12.2% reduction in cholesterol and 31.4% in triglyceride levels in women. Multiple regression identified different factors that influenced the reduction in visceral and subcutaneous fat. The predictive models explained 42.9% and 54.8% of the AVT reduction in the females and males, respectively; and 39.9% and 86.7% of the AST reduction in the females and males, respectively.

Conclusions: A modest 5% weight loss caused substantial AVT and AST mobilization, with potential benefits to cardiometabolic profile.

Keywords: Metabolic alterations; Obesity; Subcutaneous fat; Visceral fat; Weight loss.