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  • Original Article
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Body composition, energy expenditure and physical activity

Intake of ruminant trans fatty acids and changes in body weight and waist circumference

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 66, pages 1104–1109 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Follow-up studies have suggested that total intake of trans fatty acids (TFA) is a risk factor for gain in body weight and waist circumference (WC). However, in a cross-sectional study individual TFA isomers in adipose tissue had divergent associations with anthropometry. Our objective was to investigate the association between intake of TFA from ruminant dairy and meat products and subsequent changes in weight and WC. Furthermore, potential effect modification by sex, age, body mass index and WC at baseline was investigated.

Subjects/Methods:

Data on weight, WC, habitual diet and lifestyle were collected at baseline in a Danish cohort of 30 851 men and women aged 50–64 years. Follow-up information on weight and WC was collected 5 years after enrolment. The associations between intake of ruminant TFA (R-TFA) and changes in weight and WC were analysed using multiple linear regression with cubic spline modelling.

Results:

Intake of R-TFA, both absolute and energy-adjusted intake, was significantly associated with weight change. Inverse associations were observed at lower intakes with a levelling-off at intakes >1.2 g/day and 0.4 energy percentage (E %). Absolute, but not energy-adjusted, intake of R-TFA was significantly associated with WC change. An inverse association was observed at lower intakes with a plateau above an intake of 1.2 g/day.

Conclusions:

The present study suggests that intake of R-TFA is weakly inversely associated with changes in weight, whereas no substantial association with changes in WC was found.

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Acknowledgements

This work is part of the project Hepatic and Adipose Tissue and Functions in the Metabolic Syndrome (HEPADIP, www.hepadip.org), which is supported by the European Commission as an Integrated Project under the 6th Framework Programme (Contract LSHM-CT-2005-018734), part of the research programme of the Danish Obesity Research Centre (DanORC, www.danorc.dk), which is supported by the Danish Council for Strategic Research (Contract 2101-06-0005), and part of the project Health Promoting Effect of Milk-Derived Products, which is supported by the Danish Council for Strategic Research (Contract 2101-08-0053) and the Danish Dairy Research Foundation. The Danish Cancer Society financed the Diet, Cancer and Health study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Section for Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    C P Hansen, K Overvad & M U Jakobsen

  2. Department of Cardiology, Center for Cardiovascular Research, Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    C P Hansen & K Overvad

  3. Institute of Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen Capital Region, Copenhagen University Hospitals, Copenhagen, Denmark

    C P Hansen, T L Berentzen & T I A Sørensen

  4. Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

    J Halkjær & A Tjønneland

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  1. C P Hansen
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Correspondence to C P Hansen.

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Hansen, C., Berentzen, T., Halkjær, J. et al. Intake of ruminant trans fatty acids and changes in body weight and waist circumference. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 1104–1109 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.87

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