Korean J Fam Med.  2014 Jul;35(4):182-189. 10.4082/kjfm.2014.35.4.182.

Association between Appendicular Fat Mass and Metabolic Risk Factors

• Park SY
• Kwon KY
• Kim JH
• Choi HH
• Han KH
• Han JH

• KMID: 2128048
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.2014.35.4.182

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Different regional fat depots have different effects on lipid and glucose metabolism. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between body fat distribution as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and metabolic risk factors and to disclose whether there is any difference between groups with and without metabolic syndrome (MS).
METHODS
A total of 292 participants (98 men, 194 women) over 19 years old underwent whole-body DEXA to evaluate body composition with respect to the whole body, leg, arm, and android regions. Anthropometry and blood tests for metabolic risks were measured.
RESULTS
One hundred and seven participants were diagnosed with MS. The MS group had significantly higher android fat (%) and had lower leg fat (%), arm fat (%), and appendicular (arms + legs) fat (%) than the non-MS group. Android fat (%) had a positive correlation with waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), glucose, log insulin, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), triglyceride (TG), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and had a negative correlation with high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Appendicular fat (%) had a negative correlation with WC, SBP, DBP, glucose, log insulin, HbA1c, and TG, and had a positive correlation with HDL cholesterol. The association of appendicular fat with metabolic risk was consistently observed in non-MS, but the association was not observed except for SBP, glucose and log insulin in MS.
CONCLUSION
In contrast with the adverse effects of android fat, appendicular fat distribution was associated with decreased risks of MS. The protective effect of appendicular fat against metabolic risk factors in non-MS was less characteristic in MS.

Keyword

Metabolic Syndrome; Body Fat Distribution; Android Fat; Appendicular Fat; Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry

MeSH Terms

Absorptiometry, Photon
Anthropometry
Arm
Blood Pressure
Body Composition
Body Fat Distribution
Cholesterol
Cholesterol, HDL
Cholesterol, LDL
Glucose
Hematologic Tests
Humans
Insulin
Leg
Lipoproteins
Male
Metabolism
Risk Factors*
Triglycerides
Waist Circumference
Cholesterol
Cholesterol, HDL
Cholesterol, LDL
Glucose
Insulin
Lipoproteins