Helical computerized tomography can measure subcutaneous, visceral and total fat areas? / A tomografia helicoidal pode mensurar as áreas de gordura subcutânea, visceral e total?

ABSTRACT Background: Abdominal obesity or android obesity, that is, the increase in adipose tissue in the abdominal region, is considered a risk factor for several morbidities. Different ways of quantifying it have been proposed, one method is the measurement of the abdominal fat area by computed tomography. Aim: To establish correspondence between the groups defined by degree of obesity in relation to the total, subcutaneous and visceral fat area. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study carried out through the analysis of tomographic examinations. Horos v3.3.5 medical image visualization software was used, with abdominal tomography in a single cut including the L4 vertebral body and the umbilical scar, to obtain the areas of total, visceral and subcutaneous fat. Results: Of the 40 patients, 10 had grade II obesity, 23 grade III and 7 superobese. The amount of total fat showed an increase in relation to the degree of obesity. Visceral fat did not show significant differences between the degrees of obesity, but the data showed a lower average in the group of obesity grade II. The area of subcutaneous fat, as well as total fat, showed an increase in its measurements, according to the progression of the patients' BMI, but there was no statistical significance in this difference between the groups of grade II and super-obese individuals. Conclusion: The area of total and subcutaneous fat showed an increase in its measurements according to the progression of the BMI groups, which did not happen with visceral fat.

RESUMO Racional: A obesidade abdominal ou a obesidade androide, isto é, o aumento de tecido adiposo na região abdominal, é considerada fator de risco para diversas morbidades. Diferentes formas de quantificá-la foram propostas, sendo um dos métodos a medida da área da gordura abdominal pela tomografia computadorizada. Objetivo: Estabelecer correspondência entre os grupos definidos por grau de obesidade em relação a área de gordura total, subcutânea e visceral. Métodos: Estudo observacional analítico transversal realizado através da análise de exames tomográficos. Utilizou-se software de visualização de imagens médicas Horos v3.3.5, com tomografia abdominal em um único corte incluindo corpo vertebral de L4 e a cicatriz umbilical, para obter as áreas de gordura total, visceral e subcutânea. Resultados: Dos 40 pacientes 10 apresentavam obesidade grau II, 23 grau III e 7 superobesos. A quantidade de gordura total demonstrou aumento com relação ao grau de obesidade. A gordura visceral não apresentou diferenças significativas entre os graus de obesidade, porém os dados demonstraram média menor no grupo de obesidade grau II. A área de gordura subcutânea, assim como a gordura total, apresentou aumento de suas medidas, conforme a progressão do IMC dos pacientes, porém não houve significância estatística nesta diferença entre os grupos de obesos grau II e superobesos. Conclusão: A área de gordura total e subcutânea apresentaram aumento de suas medidas conforme a progressão dos grupos de IMC, o que não aconteceu com a gordura visceral.

Intraocular Pressure: the Effect of Short-term Fasting and Its Association With Fluid and Fat Status

@#Introduction: Short-term fasting may influence intraocular pressure (IOP) due to alteration of fluid (total body water; TBW, and water intake) and fat (total body fat; TBF). This study aimed: i) to compare IOP values within and between, fasting and non-fasting periods; and ii) to assess the association between IOP and, TBW and TBF. Methods: Thirty healthy participants aged 21.8±1.1 years were assessed on two different periods (fasting vs. non-fasting). During each period, the IOP, TBW and TBF values were assessed for four times (morning, afternoon, evening, late-evening). The IOP was measured using AccuPen® tonopen, while TBW and TBF were assessed by using a Tanita body composition analyser. Results: During fasting, the IOP value in the afternoon (14.53±2.33 mmHg) was significantly higher than in the evening (12.43±2.73 mmHg, p=0.009) and late-evening (12.60±2.44 mmHg, p=0.003). No significant difference in IOP was observed during non-fasting period. The mean of IOP in the evening was significantly lower during fasting compared to non-fasting (12.43±2.73 mmHg vs 13.75±2.53 mmHg, p=0.044). The IOP and TBW were negatively correlated (r=-0.268; p=0.011) during non-fasting and showed no association during fasting period. There was no significant correlation between IOP and TBF during both fasting and non-fasting periods. Conclusion: IOP reduction during short-term fasting, together with the no association with TBF and TBW suggested that IOP is an independent factor that reduces during fasting in healthy population.

The Relationship between Bone Mineral Density and Behavioral Factors in Korean Adult Men using Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV / 대한골다공증학회지

OBJECTIVES: The number of male adults who are treated for osteoporosis has been increasing rapidly over the last 4 years. The bone mineral density (BMD) of men has a similar pattern to that of women with BMD, decreasing with increasing age. We hypothesize that there is a relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and behavioral factors such as smoking, alcohol, exercise, body fat mass and lean body mass. An association between such factors and BMD would suggest that prevention and education would be a helpful approach in treating patients with osteoporosis. We designed this study to reveal the association between bone mineral density (BMD) and several behavioral factors in Korean male adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from 1038 community-dwelling men over 20 years of age who had participated in the Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (KNHANES) in 2009 were collected from Seoul city and Kyungi province. Bone mineral density (BMD) and behavioral factors (smoking, alcohol, exercise, body mass index, total fat mass) were assessed. We estimated the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and behavioral factors using ANCOVA with adjustment for age, smoking, alcohol and exercise status. RESULTS: Using multinomial logistic regression analysis, exercise 1 to 3 times a week, alcohol consumption once a week, body mass index and total lean body mass were positively associated with bone mineral density (BMD) of the total femur and femur neck. Age was negatively associated with BMD. Smoking and total fat mass were not associated with BMD. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results, maintaining adequate total lean body mass with regular exercise is as important as maintaining body weight and bone mineral density (BMD) in order to prevent osteoporosis in male adults.

Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire for Assessment of Energy, Total Fat, Fatty Acids, and Vitamin A, C and E Intake among Malaysian Women: Comparison with Three Days 24-Hour Diet Recalls / Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia

Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a practical tool for the measurement of usual food intake in large surveys because it gives a quick approximation to ‘true’ dietary intake. This study was carried out to compare the semiquantitative FFQ with three day 24-hour diet recalls (24-hr DR) in assessing intake of energy, total fat, fatty acids and vitamin A, C and E among Malaysian women. This semi-quantitative FFQ which was developed specifically for the Malay and Indian ethnicities has 200 food items and categorized according to three mealtimes namely breakfast, lunch or dinner and morning or afternoon snacks. A total of 51 Malay and 28 Indian women aged between 30 to 60 years were selected as study subjects. The result of the study shows that majority of study subjects were within the normal EI/BMR ratio when their energy intake was assessed by semi-quantitative FFQ (70%) and 24-hr DR (74%). However, 10% of study subjects became over-reporters when their intakes were assessed using the semi-quantitative FFQ. Analysis of t-test shows there is no significant difference (p > 0.05) on the mean intake of energy, total fats, saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin A, C and E between semi-quantitative FFQ and 24-hr DR. Percent mean differences were also less than 10% for all nutrients included in this study. This indicates that the semi-quantitative FFQ can produce comparable results with 24-hr DR. Energy adjusted correlation coefficient values for all studied nutrients were total fat (r = 0.64, p = 0.02), saturated fatty acids (r = 0.59, p = 0.01), monounsaturated fatty acids (r = 0.52, p = 0.03), polyunsaturated fatty acids (r = 0.57, p = 0.02), vitamin A (r = 0.69, p = 0.01), retinol (r = 0.55, p = 0.01), beta carotene (r = 0.74, p = 0.01), vitamin C (r = 0.64, p = 0.02) and vitamin E (r = 0.69, p = 0.01). Cross-classification for both methods into quartiles of intake resulted in correct classification into the same or adjacent quartile from 82% to 96% of the study subjects. Only 3% of the subjects were grossly misclassified. As a conclusion, this semi-quantitative FFQ gives estimation as good as 24-hr DR for intakes of energy, total fat, fatty acids and vitamin A, C and E among Malaysian women specifically for the Malay and Indian ethnicities. This semi-quantitative FFQ is a useful tool in dietary intake assessment for research use especially for epidemiological study on diet and disease relationship such as cardiovascular, cancer and diabetes.

The Correlation between Plasma Leptin Concentration and Adiposity in Obesity

BACKGROUND: Obesity can be considered as hyperaccumulation of body fat. Therefore, the aim to treat obesity is to decrease body fat. Abdominal total fat calculated in computed tomography is thought to be the most accurate index measuring body fat. The body mass index (BMI) and body fat mass are the representative indices also. Leptin is a protein hormone expressed by obesity gene in adipose tissue. It inhibits food intake and increases energy consumption, thereby controls obesity. With a study of relationship between plasma leptin level and body mass index and abdominal total fat area, we tried to find the usefulness of leptin as an index of adiposity. METHODS: The adiposity level was approximated by BMI, computed tomography and bioelectical impedence. To further explore the relationship with body composition, body fat distribution was determined by computed tomograph. To quantify the relationship between serum leptin level and adiposity, correlation analyses have been conducted. RESULTS: The subjects were 32 females with a BMI of over 25 kg/m2. The mean plasma leptin level was 14.2 5.9 ug/L. We investigated the correlation of plasma leptin level with subcutaneous and visceral fat. The plasma leptin level showed a significant correlation with BMI and body fat mass, and was significantly correlated with subctaneous fat (P<0.01), but not with abdominal visceral fat. CONCLUSION: A significant correlation between plasma leptin level and body fat mass was observed. The distribution of subcutaneous fat showed differences in plasma leptin level. Therefore, the plasma leptin level may be used as an index of change of body fat mass, especially subcutaneous fat.

The Effects of Vibration Baths on Abdominal Fat and Blood Lipid Profile in Obese Women

BACKGROUND: Abdominal obesity is recognized as an important risk factor of metabolic diseases and atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vibration baths on abdominal fat and blood lipid profiles in obese women. METHODS: From Apr. to Jun 2000, the 32 obese women received vibration baths for 4 weeks (30 minutes/day, repeated 5 times per week). The people were divided randomly into two groups, the case (n=17) and the control (n=15) group. The case group received vibration baths (55 Hz) and the control group took baths only. Body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), body fat distribution, lipid profiles, and blood pressures were measured in all subjects immediately before and after 4 weeks of the study. The body fat distribution was assessed by CT scan by which both total abdominal and visceral fat areas were measured at the level of the umbilicus. RESULTS: After 4 weeks, 13 subjects remained in both groups, respectively, and the total abdominal and visceral fat area decreased significantly in the case group compared from those of the control group. There were no significant differences in body weight, body fat mass, serum lipid profiles, and blood pressures before and after the baths in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that vibration baths is effective in decreasing abdominal fat. But there were no significant weight change, the effect is insufficient in obesity treatment goal.