Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-42gr6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T01:05:29.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Assessment of adipose tissue distribution by computed axial tomography in obese women: association with body density and anthropometric measurements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Mario Ferland
Affiliation:
Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory
Jean-pierre DesprÉS
Affiliation:
Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory
Angelo Tremblay
Affiliation:
Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory
Sylvie Pinault
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology
AndrÉ Nadeau
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine
Sital Moorjani
Affiliation:
Lipid Research Unit, Lava1 University, Ste-Foy, Quebec, GIK 7P4, Canada
Paul J. Lupien
Affiliation:
Lipid Research Unit, Lava1 University, Ste-Foy, Quebec, GIK 7P4, Canada
Germain ThÉriault
Affiliation:
Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory
Claude Bouchard
Affiliation:
Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

1. Abdominal obesity is associated with numerous metabolic complications. Deep abdominal adipose tissue is critical in the association between the level of abdominal obesity and cardiovascular risk factors.

2. Adipose tissue localization was assessed by computed axial tomography (CAT), and its association with body density and anthropometric measurements was investigated in a sample of fifty-one obese women (percentage body fat 45·9 (SD 5·6)) aged 35·7 (SD 5·5) years. The CAT scans were performed at three levels: lower chest, abdomen and mid-thigh.

3. The total adipose tissue volume computed from these three scans was highly correlated with body fat mass (r 0·94, P < 0·001). The proportion of deep abdominal fat as measured by the ratio of deep: total adipose tissue areas at the abdominal level was not significantly correlated with body fat mass, but it was moderately associated with the ratio of waist: hip circumferences (WHR) (r 0·49, P < 0·001). The absolute amount of deep abdominal fat was, however, significantly correlated with body fat mass (r 0·72, P < 0·001).

4. The subscapular (r 0·38) and the abdominal (r 0·38) skinfolds were the only two skinfolds that were significantly associated with the proportion of deep abdominal fat (P < 0·01). These skinfolds were also those which showed the highest correlation with the absolute amount of deep abdominal fat (r 0·65, P < 0·001, for both skinfolds).

5. A three-site CAT-scan procedure can be used for the estimation of body fat mass in premenopausal obese women.

6. In these obese women, there was no significant association between total adiposity and the proportion of deep adipose tissue at the abdominal level.

7. In premenopausal obese women, the absolute amount of deep abdominal fat can be predicted from anthropometric measurements with more accuracy than the relative amount of deep abdominal fat.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1989

References

Ashwell, M., Cole, T. J. & Dixon, A. K. (1985) Obesity: new insight into the anthropometric classification of fat distribution shown by computed tomography. British Medical Journal 290, 16921694.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barret-Connor, E. L. (1985) Obesity, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease. Annals of Internal Medicine 103, 10101019.Google Scholar
Behnke, A. R. & Wilmore, J. H. (1974) Evaluation and Regulation of Body Build and Composition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Berchtold, P., Jorgens, V., Finke, C. & Berger, M. (1981) Epidemiology of obesity and hypertension. International Journal of Obesity 5, Suppl. 1, 17.Google Scholar
Björntorp, P. (1984) Morphological classifications of obesity: what they tell us, what they don't. International Journal of Obesity 8, 525533.Google ScholarPubMed
Borkan, G. A., Gerzof, S. G., Robbins, A. H., Hults, D. E., Silbert, C. K. & Silbert, J. E. (1982) Assessment of abdominal fat content by computed tomography. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 36, 172177.Google Scholar
Callaway, C. W., Chumlea, W. C., Bouchard, C., Himes, J. H., Lohman, T. G., Martin, A. D., Mitchell, C. D., Mueller, W. H., Roche, A. F. & Seefeldt, V. D. (1988). Circumferences. In Anthropometric Standardization Reference Manual, pp. 3954. [Lohman, T. G., Roche, A. F. and Martorel, R., editors]. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Castelli, W. P. (1984) Epidemiology of coronary heart disease: the Framingham study. American Journal of Medicine 76, 412.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Després, J. P., Allard, C., Tremblay, A., Talbot, J. & Bouchard, C. (1985a) Evidence for a regional component of body fatness in the association with serum lipids in men and women. Metabolism 34, 967973.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Després, J. P., Bouchard, C., Tremblay, A., Savard, R. & Marcotte, M. (1985b) Effects of aerobic training on fat distribution in male subjects. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 17, 113118.Google Scholar
Donahue, R. P., Abbot, R. D., Bloom, E., Reed, D. M. & Yano, K. (1987) Central obesity and coronary heart disease in men. Lancet i, 821824.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Enzi, G., Gasparo, M., Biondetti, P. R., Fiore, D., Semisa, M. & Zurlo, F. (1986) Subcutaneous and visceral fat distribution according to sex, age, and overweight, evaluated by computed tomography. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 44. 139746.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fujioka, S., Matsuzawa, Y., Tokunaga, K. & Tarui, S. (1987) Contribution of intra-abdominal fat accumulation to the impairment of glucose and lipid metabolism in human obesity. Metabolism 36, 5459.Google Scholar
Grauer, W. O., Moss, A. A., Cann, C. E. & Goldberg, H. I. (1984) Quantification of body fat distribution in the abdomen using computed tomography. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 39, 631637.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haines, A. P., Imeson, J. D. & Meade, T. W. (1987) Skinfold thickness and cardiovascular risk factor. American Journal of Epidemiology 126, 8694.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, G. G., Buskirk, E. R., Carter, J. E. L., Johnston, F. E., Lohman, T. G., Pollock, M. L. & Wilmore, J. (1988). Skinfold thicknesses and measurement technique. In Anthropometric Standardization Reference Manual, pp. 5570 [Lohman, T. G., A.F., Roche and Martorel, R. editors]. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Hubert, H. B., Feinleib, M., McNamara, P. M. & Castelli, W. P. (1983) Obesity as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease: a 26-year follow-up of the participants in the Framingham heart study. Circulation 67, 968977.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keys, A. (1980) Overweight, obesity, coronary heart disease and mortality. Nutrition Reviews 38, 297307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kissebah, A. H., Vydelingum, N., Murray, R., Evans, D. J., Hartz, A. J., Kalkhoff, R. K. & Adams, P. W. (1982) Relation of body fat distribution to metabolic complications of obesity. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 54, 254260.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krotkiewski, M., Björntorp, P., Sjöstrom, L. & Smith, U. (1983) Impact of obesity on metabolism in men and women. Importance of regional adipose tissue distribution. Journal of Clinical Investigation 72, 11561162.Google Scholar
Kvist, H., Sjöström, L. & Tylén, U. (1986) Adipose tissue volume determinations in women by computed tomography: technical considerations. International Journal of Obesity 10, 5367.Google ScholarPubMed
Lapidus, L., Bengtsson, C., Larsson, B., Pennert, K., Rybo, E. & Sjöström, L. (1984) Distribution of adipose tissue and risk of cardiovascular disease and death: a 12-year follow-up of participants in the population of women in Gothenburg, Sweden. British Medical Journal 289, 12571261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsson, B., Björntorp, P. & Tibblin, G. (1981) The health consequences of moderate obesity. International Journal of Obesity 5, 97116.Google Scholar
Larsson, B., Svardsudd, K., Welin, L., Wilhelmsen, L., Björntorp, P. & Tibblin, G. (1984) Abdominal adipose tissue distribution, obesity, and risk of cardiovascular disease and death: 13-year follow-up of participants in the study of men born in 1913. British Medical Journal 288, 14011404.Google Scholar
Lew, E. A. & Garfinkel, L. (1979) Variations in mortality by weight among 750,000 men and women. Journal of Chronic Diseases 32, 563576.Google Scholar
Meneely, G. R. & Kaltreider, N. L. (1949) The volume of the lung determined by helium dilution. Description of the method and comparison with other procedures. Journal of Clinical Investigation 20, 129139.Google Scholar
Montenegro, M. R. & Solberg, L. (1968). Obesity, body weight, body length, and atherosclerosis. Laboratory Investigation 134143.Google Scholar
Neter, J., Wasserman, W. & Kutner, M. (1985) Applied Linear Statistical Models 2nd ed., pp. 417429. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin Inc.Google Scholar
Royal College of Physicians (1983) Obesity. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians, London 17, 565.Google Scholar
Seidell, J. C., Oosterlee, A., Thijssen, M. A. O., Burema, J., Deurenberg, P., Hautvast, J. G. A. J. & Ruijs, J. H. J. (1987) Assessment of intra-abodminal and subcutaneous abdominal fat: relation between anthropometry and computed tomography. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 713.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shuman, W. P., Newell Morris, L. L., Leonetti, D. L., Wahl, P. W., Moceri, V. M., Moss, A. A. & Fujimoto, W. Y. (1986) Abnormal body fat distribution detected by computed tomography in diabetic men. Investigative Radiology 21, 483487.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siri, W. E. (1956) The gross composition of the body. Advances in Biological and Medical Physics 4, 239280.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sjöström, L. (1988). Measurement of fat distribution. In Fat Distribution During Growth and Later Health Outcomes, pp. 4361 [Bouchard, C. and Johnston, F., editors]. New York: Alan R. Liss.Google Scholar
Sjöström, L., Kvist, H., Cederblad, A. & Tylén, U. (1986). Determination of total adipose tissue and body fat in women by computed tomography, 40K, and tritium. American Journal of Physiology 250, E736E745.Google ScholarPubMed
Sjöström, L., Kvist, H. & Tylén, U. (1985). Methodological aspects of measurements of adipose tissue distribution. In Metabolic Compkations of Human Obesities, pp. 1319 [J.Vague, P. Vague, P., Bjorntorp, B., Guy-Grand, M., Rebuffé-Soive, and P. Vague, editors]. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers.Google Scholar
Vague, J. (1947) La différenciation sexuelle: facteur déteminant des formes de l'obésité. La Presse Médicale 30, 339340.Google Scholar
Van Itallie, T. B. (1979) Obesity: adverse effects on health and longevity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32, 21232733.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weinsier, R. L., Fuchs, R. J., Kay, T. D., Triebwasser, J. & LancasterM. C,. M. C,. (1976) Body fat: its relationship to coronary heart disease, blood pressure, lipids and other risk factors measured in a large male population. American Journal of Medicine 61, 815823.CrossRefGoogle Scholar