A team of researchers, led by Prof. XU Lin, at Institute for Nutritional Sciences (INS), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS, reported that in contrast to the adverse effects of excess truck fat, large leg fat appears to have favorable effects on adipokines, inflammatory markers, and risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among Chinese. The opposite associations between regional fat depots and MetS risk may be partially mediated by adipokines and inflammatory status. These findings provide novel insights regarding the potential mechanisms linking regional fat depots and specific metabolic outcomes, which is particularly important for Chinese who are known to be more likely to have abdominal obesity than other ethnical populations at a given BMI.

Obesity and related cytokines are well established risk factors for MetS and/or type 2 diabetes. However, it remains unclear, particularly in Chinese, how fat accumulation in trunk and leg are associated with MetS risk and to what extent these associations could attribute to the multiple adipokines and inflammatory markers.

In this study, Hongyu Wu, a graduate student of Prof. XU Lin analyzed the data of trunk and leg fat mass measured by whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan in a population-based sample of 1,150 Chinese aged 50-70 years. It was found that larger trunk fat mass was significantly associated with lower adiponectin, and higher plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), c-reactive protein and interleukin 6 levels in both genders while larger leg fat mass was significantly associated with higher adiponectin levels in both genders, and lower RBP4 and PAI-1 concentrations in men. Moreover, the odds ratio (95% CI) of MetS was 0.33 (0.18-0.62) for men and 0.43 (0.28-0.65) for women comparing the highest tertile with the lowest leg fat tertile. The associations were attenuated with further controlling adipokines and inflammatory markers.

This research entitled " Independent and Opposite Associations of Trunk and Leg Fat Depots with Adipokines, Inflammatory Markers and Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Men and Women" was published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism on September 6, 2010.

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Lin Xu, Professor
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Phone: 86.21.5492.0249; Fax: 86.21.5492.0291; E-mail: xlin@sibs.ac.cn

Adjusted ORs for MetS according to the tertiles of BALF and BATF in men (A) and women (B).
Adjusted for age, residence, alcohol drinking, smoking, educational attainment, physical activity, self-reported CVD, and family history of diabetes and CVD (P=0.76 and 0.35 for interaction in men and women, respectively).
(Picture provided by INS)