Fat Depots, Free Fatty Acids, and Dyslipidemia

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Body fat deposition and excess free fatty acid (FFA) metabolism contribute to dyslipidemia and the adverse health consequences of obesity. Individuals with upper body obesity have impaired functioning of adipocytes, the primary fatty acid storage site. Excess visceral fat is strongly associated with impaired suppression of FFA release in response to insulin, as well as with hypertriglyceridemia and low concentrations of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. High FFA concentrations can induce insulin resistance in muscle and liver. Furthermore, failure of hyperinsulinemia to normally suppress FFA is associated with impaired carbohydrate oxidation and muscle glucose storage, reduced hepatic insulin clearance and elevated triglycerides. Understanding the impact of body fat distribution on FFA metabolism and dyslipidemia is critical for determining the link between overweight and obesity and cardiovascular disease risk. In the current review, we will explore the relationship between adipose tissue, body fat depots, and FFA metabolism.

Related collections

Most cited references 62

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue compartments: association with metabolic risk factors in the Framingham Heart Study.

Caroline S. Fox, Joseph Massaro, Udo Hoffmann … (2007)

Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) compartments may confer increased metabolic risk. The incremental utility of measuring both visceral and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAT) in association with metabolic risk factors and underlying heritability has not been well described in a population-based setting. Participants (n=3001) were drawn from the Framingham Heart Study (48% women; mean age, 50 years), were free of clinical cardiovascular disease, and underwent multidetector computed tomography assessment of SAT and VAT volumes between 2002 and 2005. Metabolic risk factors were examined in relation to increments of SAT and VAT after multivariable adjustment. Heritability was calculated using variance-components analysis. Among both women and men, SAT and VAT were significantly associated with blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and with increased odds of hypertension, impaired fasting glucose, diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome (P range < 0.01). In women, relations between VAT and risk factors were consistently stronger than in men. However, VAT was more strongly correlated with most metabolic risk factors than was SAT. For example, among women and men, both SAT and VAT were associated with increased odds of metabolic syndrome. In women, the odds ratio (OR) of metabolic syndrome per 1-standard deviation increase in VAT (OR, 4.7) was stronger than that for SAT (OR, 3.0; P for difference between SAT and VAT < 0.0001); similar differences were noted for men (OR for VAT, 4.2; OR for SAT, 2.5). Furthermore, VAT but not SAT contributed significantly to risk factor variation after adjustment for body mass index and waist circumference (P < or = 0.01). Among overweight and obese individuals, the prevalence of hypertension, impaired fasting glucose, and metabolic syndrome increased linearly and significantly across increasing VAT quartiles. Heritability values for SAT and VAT were 57% and 36%, respectively. Although both SAT and VAT are correlated with metabolic risk factors, VAT remains more strongly associated with an adverse metabolic risk profile even after accounting for standard anthropometric indexes. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesized role of visceral fat as a unique, pathogenic fat depot. Measurement of VAT may provide a more complete understanding of metabolic risk associated with variation in fat distribution.

0 comments Cited 905 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Visceral fat adipokine secretion is associated with systemic inflammation in obese humans.

Luigi Fontana, J. Eagon, Maria Trujillo … (2007)

Although excess visceral fat is associated with noninfectious inflammation, it is not clear whether visceral fat is simply associated with or actually causes metabolic disease in humans. To evaluate the hypothesis that visceral fat promotes systemic inflammation by secreting inflammatory adipokines into the portal circulation that drains visceral fat, we determined adipokine arteriovenous concentration differences across visceral fat, by obtaining portal vein and radial artery blood samples, in 25 extremely obese subjects (mean +/- SD BMI 54.7 +/- 12.6 kg/m(2)) during gastric bypass surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Mean plasma interleukin (IL)-6 concentration was approximately 50% greater in the portal vein than in the radial artery in obese subjects (P = 0.007). Portal vein IL-6 concentration correlated directly with systemic C-reactive protein concentrations (r = 0.544, P = 0.005). Mean plasma leptin concentration was approximately 20% lower in the portal vein than in the radial artery in obese subjects (P = 0.0002). Plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha, resistin, macrophage chemoattractant protein-1, and adiponectin concentrations were similar in the portal vein and radial artery in obese subjects. These data suggest that visceral fat is an important site for IL-6 secretion and provide a potential mechanistic link between visceral fat and systemic inflammation in people with abdominal obesity.

0 comments Cited 368 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Pericardial fat, visceral abdominal fat, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and vascular calcification in a community-based sample: the Framingham Heart Study.

Guido A. Rosito, Joseph Massaro, Udo Hoffmann … (2008)

Pericardial fat may be an important mediator of metabolic risk. Correlations with cardiovascular disease risk factors and vascular calcification in a community-based sample are lacking. We sought to examine associations between pericardial fat, metabolic risk factors, and vascular calcification. Participants free of cardiovascular disease from the Framingham Heart Study (n=1155, mean age 63 years, 54.8% women) who were part of a multidetector computed tomography study underwent quantification of intrathoracic fat, pericardial fat, visceral abdominal fat (VAT), coronary artery calcification, and aortic artery calcification. Intrathoracic and pericardial fat volumes were examined in relation to body mass index, waist circumference, VAT, metabolic risk factors, coronary artery calcification, and abdominal aortic calcification. Intrathoracic and pericardial fat were directly correlated with body mass index (r=0.41 to 0.51, P 0.05). Pericardial fat, but not intrathoracic fat, was associated with coronary artery calcification after multivariable and VAT adjustment (odds ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.005 to 1.46, P=0.04), whereas intrathoracic fat, but not pericardial fat, was associated with abdominal aortic calcification (odds ratio 1.32, 95% confidence interval 1.03 to 1.67, P=0.03). Pericardial fat is correlated with multiple measures of adiposity and cardiovascular disease risk factors, but VAT is a stronger correlate of most metabolic risk factors. However, intrathoracic and pericardial fat are associated with vascular calcification, which suggests that these fat depots may exert local toxic effects on the vasculature.

0 comments Cited 285 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Nutrients

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Nutrients

Journal ID (publisher-id): nutrients

Title: Nutrients

Publisher: MDPI

ISSN (Electronic): 2072-6643

Publication date (Electronic): 07 February 2013

Publication date Collection: February 2013

Volume: 5

Issue: 2

Pages: 498-508

Affiliations

[1 ]Division of Primary Care Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; E-Mail: ebbert.jon@ 123456mayo.edu

[2 ]Division of Endocrinology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA

Author notes

[* ] Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: jensen@ 123456mayo.edu ; Tel.: +1-507-255-6515; Fax: +1-507-255-4828.

Article

Publisher ID: nutrients-05-00498

DOI: 10.3390/nu5020498

PMC ID: 3635208

PubMed ID: 23434905

SO-VID: 67d9f49b-04c7-4602-a567-956047036a8c

License:

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

History

Date received : 31 December 2012

Date revision received : 31 January 2013

Date accepted : 04 February 2013

Comments

Comment on this article

scite_

Cited by 111

See all cited by

Most referenced authors 1,009

See all reference authors

Fat Depots, Free Fatty Acids, and Dyslipidemia

Read this article at

Abstract

Related collections

Karger: Nutrition and Dietetics

Most cited references 62

Abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue compartments: association with metabolic risk factors in the Framingham Heart Study.

Visceral fat adipokine secretion is associated with systemic inflammation in obese humans.

Pericardial fat, visceral abdominal fat, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and vascular calcification in a community-based sample: the Framingham Heart Study.

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 210

Cited by 111

Most referenced authors 1,009