Issue 210 Item 6 Fat Distribution In Women Tied To Heart Disease Risks

In overweight and obese women undergoing weight reduction, changes in fat distribution appear to be associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. According to these findings, health professionals might be able to evaluate improvement of CHD risks by information on regional body composition–fat masses in the legs and trunk–changes during weight reduction.

In essence, it appears that fat mass in the legs is associated with reduced CHD risk, whereas abdominal fat is associated with an increased risk, Dr. Okura’s group reports.

Dr. Okura, lead investigator, formerly of Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana and colleagues came to these conclusions after using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to investigate body composition in 128 sedentary, overweight or obese women.

The women, who were between the ages of 34 to 66 years old, were participating in a 14-week diet and exercise weight reduction program. Fat changes in the legs correlated negatively with changes in diastolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose and the number of CHD risk factors per participant. Conversely, such changes in the trunk had positive correlations with changes in triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose and the number of CHD risk factors.

Lean soft tissue changes in the legs correlated negatively with changes in systolic pressure, fasting plasma glucose and the number of risk factors.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Isabelle Lemieux of Laval Hospital Research Center, Ste-Foy, Canada comments that these results "demonstrate that localization of fat mass is clearly more important than obesity per se in the evaluation of the atherogenic metabolic risk profile in women."

Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2004;24:795-797,923-929.
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DID YOU KNOW: The national survey conducted in 2003 showed that 4 per cent of children are classified as obese, and a further 15.4 per cent as being overweight. That is to say one in five is heavier than he/she should be, the same proportion as in the adult male. Asian children are four times more likely to be obese than indigenous children of European stock. The prevalence of obesity is also significantly higher in Scotland and Wales than in England.