Association between dietary factors and brown adipose tissue volume/18F-FDG uptake in young adults

Lucas Jurado-Fasoli; Elisa Merchan-Ramirez; Borja Martinez-Tellez; Francisco M Acosta; Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado; Francisco J Amaro-Gahete; Victoria Muñoz Hernandez; Wendy D Martinez-Avila; Lourdes Ortiz-Alvarez; Huiwen Xu; María José Arias Téllez; María Dolores Ruiz-López; Jose M Llamas-Elvira; Ángel Gil; Idoia Labayen; Jonatan R Ruiz

doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2020.09.020

Association between dietary factors and brown adipose tissue volume/¹⁸F-FDG uptake in young adults

Clin Nutr. 2021 Apr;40(4):1997-2008. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2020.09.020. Epub 2020 Sep 19.

Authors

Lucas Jurado-Fasoli¹, Elisa Merchan-Ramirez², Borja Martinez-Tellez³, Francisco M Acosta², Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado⁴, Francisco J Amaro-Gahete⁵, Victoria Muñoz Hernandez², Wendy D Martinez-Avila², Lourdes Ortiz-Alvarez⁶, Huiwen Xu⁶, María José Arias Téllez⁷, María Dolores Ruiz-López⁸, Jose M Llamas-Elvira⁹, Ángel Gil¹⁰, Idoia Labayen¹¹, Jonatan R Ruiz²

Affiliations

¹ PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity Research Group (PROFITH), Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, 18007, Granada, Spain; Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 18011, Granada, Spain; EFFECTS 262 Research Group, Department of Medical Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: juradofasoli@ugr.es.
² PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity Research Group (PROFITH), Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, 18007, Granada, Spain; Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 18011, Granada, Spain.
³ PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity Research Group (PROFITH), Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, 18007, Granada, Spain; Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 18011, Granada, Spain; Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA, Leiden, the Netherlands.
⁴ PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity Research Group (PROFITH), Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, 18007, Granada, Spain; Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 18011, Granada, Spain; Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70808, USA.
⁵ PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity Research Group (PROFITH), Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, 18007, Granada, Spain; Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 18011, Granada, Spain; EFFECTS 262 Research Group, Department of Medical Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain.
⁶ PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity Research Group (PROFITH), Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, 18007, Granada, Spain; Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 18011, Granada, Spain; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain.
⁷ PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity Research Group (PROFITH), Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, 18007, Granada, Spain; Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 18011, Granada, Spain; Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Independence, 1027, Santiago, Chile.
⁸ Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Granada, Campus de Cartuja, s.n, 18071, Granada, Spain; Iberoamerican Nutrition Foundation (FINUT), Av. Del Conocimiento 12, 3 (a) pta, Armilla, 18016, Granada, Spain; Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology "José Mataix," Biomedical Research Center, University of Granada, Parque Tecnológico de la Salud, Avenida del Conocimiento s/n, Armilla, 18100, Granada, Spain.
⁹ Servicio de Medicina Nuclear, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs. GRANADA), Granada, Spain.
¹⁰ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain; Iberoamerican Nutrition Foundation (FINUT), Av. Del Conocimiento 12, 3 (a) pta, Armilla, 18016, Granada, Spain; Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology "José Mataix," Biomedical Research Center, University of Granada, Parque Tecnológico de la Salud, Avenida del Conocimiento s/n, Armilla, 18100, Granada, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs. GRANADA), Granada, Spain; CIBEROBN (Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition CB12/03/30038), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28029, Madrid, Spain.
¹¹ Institute for Innovation & Sustainable Development in Food Chain (IS-FOOD), Public University of Navarra, Campus de Arrosadía, 31008, Pamplona, Spain.

PMID: 32994069
DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2020.09.020

Abstract

Objective: To study the association between usual dietary factors (dietary energy density, nutrient intake, food group consumption, and dietary pattern) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) volume/¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) uptake after personalized cold exposure in young healthy adults.

Methods: A total of 122 young adults (n = 82 women; 22.0 ± 2.1 years old; 24.8 ± 4.8 kg/m²) took part in this cross-sectional study. Dietary factors were measured via a food frequency questionnaire and three non-consecutive 24 h recalls. Dietary energy density (foods and caloric beverages included) and macronutrient intakes were subsequently estimated using EvalFINUT® software, food group consumption was estimated from the food frequency questionnaire, and different dietary patterns and quality indices were determined according to the reference methods. BAT volume, BAT ¹⁸F-FDG uptake, and skeletal muscle ¹⁸F-FDG uptake were assessed by static ¹⁸F-FDG positron-emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT) scans after a 2 h personalized exposure to cold.

Results: A direct association was detected between dietary energy density and BAT Standardized Uptake Value (SUV)mean (β = 0.215; R² = 0.044; P = 0.022), and between ethanol consumption and BAT volume (β = 0.215; R² = 0.044; P = 0.022). The a priori Mediterranean dietary pattern was inversely associated with BAT SUVmean and SUVpeak (β = -0.273; R² = 0.075; P = 0.003 and β = -0.255; R² = 0.066; P = 0.005 respectively). In addition, the diet quality index for a Mediterranean diet and a pro-inflammatory dietary pattern (as determined via the dietary inflammatory index) were directly associated with BAT SUVmean and SUVpeak (SUVmean: β = 0.238; R² = 0.053; P = 0.013 and β = 0.256; R² = 0.052; P = 0.012 respectively; SUVpeak: β = 0.278; R² = 0.073; P = 0.003 and β = 0.248; R² = 0.049; P = 0.016 respectively). After controlling for multiplicity and possible confounders (sex, the evaluation wave and BMI), all the detected associations persisted.

Conclusion: Dietary factors are slightly associated with BAT volume and/or ¹⁸F-FDG uptake after a personalized cold exposure in young adults. Our results provide an overall picture of the potential relationships between dietary factors and BAT-related variables in humans.

Keywords: Brown fat; Diet; Food; Macronutrient; Nutrition; Thermogenesis.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Adipose Tissue, Brown / anatomy & histology
Adipose Tissue, Brown / metabolism*
Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diet / methods*
Female
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / pharmacokinetics*
Humans
Male
Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography / methods*
Young Adult

Substances

Fluorodeoxyglucose F18