Lifestyle‐Intervention‐Induced Reduction of Abdominal Fat Is Reflected by a Decreased Circulating Glycerol Level and an Increased HDL Diameter

• Published in: Molecular nutrition & food research 2020-05, Vol.64 (10), p.e1900818-n/a
• Main Authors: Beekman, Marian, Schutte, Bianca A.M., Akker, Erik B. van den, Noordam, Raymond, Dibbets‐Schneider, Petra, Geus‐Oei, Lioe‐Fee, Deelen, Joris, Rest, Ondine van de, Heemst, Diana van, Feskens, Edith J.M., Slagboom, P. Eline
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; abdominal fat; Biomarkers; Body composition; Body fat; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Body weight loss; Cholesterol; Dietary restrictions; Energy expenditure; Glycerol; Health risk assessment; Health risks; High density lipoprotein; lifestyle interventions; Lifestyles; Metabolism; metabolomics; Older people; Reduction; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Weight loss
• ISSN: 1613-4125; 1613-4133
• DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201900818

Scope Abdominal obesity is one of the main modifiable risk factors of age‐related cardiometabolic disease. Cardiometabolic disease risk and its associated high abdominal fat mass, cholesterol, and glucose concentrations can be reduced by a healthier lifestyle. Hence, the aim is to understand the relation between lifestyle‐induced changes in body composition, and specifically abdominal fat, and accompanying changes in circulating metabolic biomarkers. Methods and results Data from the Growing Old Together (GOTO) study was used, which is a single arm lifestyle intervention in which 164 older adults (mean age 63 years, BMI 23–35 kg/m2) changed their lifestyle during 13 weeks by 12.5% caloric restriction plus 12.5% increase in energy expenditure. It is shown here that levels of circulating metabolic biomarkers, even after adjustment for body mass index, specifically associate with abdominal fat mass. The applied lifestyle intervention mainly reduces abdominal fat mass (−2.6%, SD = 3.0) and this reduction, when adjusted for general weight loss, is highly associated with decreased circulating glycerol concentrations and increased HDL diameter. Conclusion The lifestyle‐induced reduction of abdominal fat mass is particularly associated, independent of body mass index or general weight loss, with decreased circulating glycerol concentrations and increased HDL diameter. This study shows that the amount of abdominal fat is correlated with metabolic biomarkers in the blood: large abdominal fat mass associates with high circulating concentrations of glycerol and a small diameter of HDL particles, independent of body mass index. When abdominal fat mass is reduced by a lifestyle intervention, circulating glycerol level is decreased and HDL diameter is increased, independent of general weight loss.