Low fitness is associated with abdominal adiposity and low-grade inflammation independent of BMI

Anne-Sophie Wedell-Neergaard; Louise Eriksen; Morten Grønbæk; Bente Klarlund Pedersen; Rikke Krogh-Madsen; Janne Tolstrup

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190645

Low fitness is associated with abdominal adiposity and low-grade inflammation independent of BMI

PLoS One. 2018 Jan 17;13(1):e0190645. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190645. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Anne-Sophie Wedell-Neergaard¹, Louise Eriksen², Morten Grønbæk², Bente Klarlund Pedersen¹, Rikke Krogh-Madsen¹, Janne Tolstrup²

Affiliations

¹ The Centre of Inflammation and Metabolism and the Centre for Physical Activity Research, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
² The National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Abstract

Objective: Up to 30% of obese individuals are metabolically healthy. Metabolically healthy obese (MHO) individuals are characterized by having low abdominal adiposity, low inflammation level and low risk of developing metabolic comorbidity. In this study, we hypothesize that cardiorespiratory fitness (fitness) is a determinant factor for the MHO individuals and aim to investigate the associations between fitness, abdominal adiposity and low-grade inflammation within different BMI categories.

Method: Data from 10,976 individuals from the general population, DANHES 2007-2008, on waist circumference, fitness and C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were analysed using multiple linear and median quantile regressions.

Results: In men, an inverse association between fitness (+5 mL min-1 kg-1) and waist circumference (-1.45 cm; 95% CI: -1.55 to -1.35 cm; p<0.001), and an inverse association between fitness (+5 mL min-1 kg-1) and hsCRP (-0.22 mg/L; 95% CI: -0.255 to -0.185 mg/L; p<0.001) was found, all independent of BMI. Similarly in women, an inverse association between fitness (+5 mL min-1 kg-1) and waist circumference (-1.15 cm; 95% CI: -1.25 to -1.0 cm; p<0.001), and an inverse association between fitness (+5 mL min-1 kg-1) and hsCRP (-0.26 mg/L; 95% CI: -0.3 to -0.22 mg/L; p<0.001) was found, all independent of BMI. Additionally, significant positive associations between waist circumference and hsCRP were found for both men and women, independently of BMI.

Conclusion: Fitness was found to be inversely associated with both abdominal adiposity and low-grade inflammation independent of BMI. These data suggest that, in spite of BMI, high fitness levels lead to a reduction in abdominal fat mass and low-grade inflammation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Body Mass Index*
C-Reactive Protein / metabolism
Female
Humans
Inflammation / physiopathology*
Male
Middle Aged
Obesity, Abdominal*
Physical Fitness*
Waist Circumference

Substances

C-Reactive Protein

Grants and funding

The Centre for Physical Activity Research (CFAS), supported by a grant from TrygFonden and The Centre of Inflammation and Metabolism (CIM), supported by a grant from the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF55), executed this study. CIM is a member of DD2 – the Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes (the Danish Council for Strategic Research, grant no. 09-067009 and 09-075724). The Danish Ministry of Health and Prevention together with Trygfonden, Denmark, founded the DANHES 2007-2008. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.