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Insulin resistance and abdominal adiposity in young men with documented malnutrition during the first year of life

International Journal of Obesity volume 27, pages 598–604 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the study was to examine the effect of early life malnutrition on the relation between insulin sensitivity and abdominal adiposity in adulthood. It was hypothesised that participants with early life malnutrition would display a more pronounced deterioration of insulin sensitivity in association with a gain in abdominal fat.

DESIGN: As a first attempt to investigate this issue, we studied the effect of body fat gains in a cross-sectional context.

SUBJECTS: A total of 26 young adult men with evidence of malnutrition during the first year of life and 27 control subjects were recruited for this study. Malnutrition status was determined from medical files of paediatric hospitals in the Mexico City metropolitan area.

MEASUREMENTS: Insulin sensitivity was measured by hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp, and body composition was measured by anthropometrics, bioelectrical impedance and computed tomography.

RESULTS: There was a negative correlation between total abdominal adipose tissue area and insulin sensitivity in the previously malnourished and control groups (r2=0.65 and 0.35, P<0.01, respectively). When matched for low amounts of abdominal fat (114 cm2), participants with and without early life malnutrition had similar insulin sensitivity (9.03 vs 8.88 mg kg−1 min−1). However, when matched for high amounts of abdominal fat (310 cm2) participants who were malnourished during the first year of life had lower insulin sensitivity (4.74 vs 6.85 mg kg−1 min−1, P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Higher levels of abdominal adipose tissue are more detrimental to insulin sensitivity in previously malnourished individuals.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the Nestlé Foundation. Mr Boulé is supported by NSERC of Canada postgraduate scholarship. We acknowledge the contribution of the following institutions in Mexico City for the recruitment of participants: Instituto Nacional de Pediatra, Hospital General, Centro Infantil de Rehabilitacion Nutricional, and Hospital Infantil Frederico Gomez.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Kinesiology, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada

    N G Boulé & A Tremblay

  2. Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada

    J P Després

  3. National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran, Mexico City, Mexico

    J Gonzalez-Barranco, C A Aguilar-Salinas, J C Lopez-Alvarenga, F J Gomez-Perez, L Castillo-Martinez & J M Rios-Torres

  4. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, USA

    C Bouchard

Authors
  1. N G Boulé
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  2. A Tremblay
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  3. J Gonzalez-Barranco
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  4. C A Aguilar-Salinas
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  5. J C Lopez-Alvarenga
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  6. J P Després
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  7. C Bouchard
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  8. F J Gomez-Perez
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  9. L Castillo-Martinez
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  10. J M Rios-Torres
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Correspondence to A Tremblay.

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Boulé, N., Tremblay, A., Gonzalez-Barranco, J. et al. Insulin resistance and abdominal adiposity in young men with documented malnutrition during the first year of life. Int J Obes 27, 598–604 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802288

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