Measurement of Regional Body Fat in Vivo in Humans by Simultaneous Detection of Regional Carbon and Oxygen, Using Neutron Inelastic Scattering at Low Radiation Exposure

Abstract

Certain body fat distribution patterns have been associated with increased risk for chronic disease since 1956, when Vauge proposed that specific obesity patterns could determine predisposition to diabetes, atherosclerosis and other disease¹. Several investigators have confirmed that the “male-type” fat distribution pattern, characterized by increased abdominal adipose tissue, is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and elevated plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, independently of total body fat^2,3. A mechanism has been suggested which relates the “male-type” obesity pattern to certain metabolic alterations. Specifically, lipolysis in the intra-abdominal adipose tissue could expose the liver to a high flux of free fatty acids, due to its anatomic proximity to the hepatic portal vein. As a result, the hepatic insulin and lipid metabolism is significantly altered³. New methods for measuring distribution of adipose tissue were generated for investigating this hypothesis. Indirect techniques, such as the waist-to-hip ratio, have produced results consistent with this theory. The relative importance of genetic factors as well as the role of peripheral fat remain unknown.