L. Vangaal et al., LIPID AND LIPOPROTEIN CHANGES AFTER LONG-TERM WEIGHT-REDUCTION - THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER AND BODY-FAT DISTRIBUTION, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 14(4), 1995, pp. 382-386
Objectives: This study was designed: 1) to evaluate the effect of weig
ht loss on body fat distribution, 2) to determine whether indices of b
ody fat distribution can be considered as a prognostic indicator for t
he ability to lose weight and 3) to evaluate whether a change of body
fat distribution is associated with changes in plasma glucose, lipids
and lipoproteins in both sexes in order to evaluate a gender differenc
e. Methods: 63 obese subjects (41 women and 22 men) were treated on an
outpatient basis with an energy-reduced, protein-enriched low calorie
diet (3150-4200 kJ/day) for a B-month period. They were divided in di
fferent groups according to gender and body fat distribution using the
waist-to-hip circumference ratio. Results: Body fat topography can be
altered by dieting, but not by more than it increases when a person g
ains weight. Body fat distribution seems to be a significant prognosti
c indicator for the ability to lose weight in women but not in men, Al
though body weight and the waist-to-hip circumference decreased signif
icantly, no relationships were found between percent decrease in these
parameters and percent changes in plasma glucose, lipids and lipoprot
eins. Conclusion: We conclude that an important caloric deficit may le
ad to a series of metabolic improvements but that gender and the type
of fat distribution are important confounding factors in the predictio
n of metabolic success.