Body fat distribution in healthy young and older men
Article Abstract:
It is believed that a central distribution of fat (the ratio of waist size to hip size) predicts obesity-related metabolic abnormalities, such as abnormal glucose tolerance, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, stroke, and death. Because older people tend to lose muscle and other fat-free mass, they tend to have more fat than a younger person of the same size and weight. Also, as people age, they lose fat in their limbs, and gain in it in the body. Studies by computed tomography have measured an increase in intraabdominal (IA) fat with age. In order to measure these changes in fat distribution with age, 17 men from 24 to 31 years, and 16 men from 60 to 82 years were examined. The selection of healthy older men for an exercise training study probably resulted in selection bias, but the bias would tend to obscure the differences, making a significant difference in weight distribution all the more remarkable. Measures of IA and subcutaneous (SQ) fat were performed. The amount of SQ fat was not significantly different between the two groups, although arm and thigh measures were smaller in the older men. The greatest difference was in the IA fat deposits, with the older men having twice the amount of IA fat as the younger men. The ratio of IA to abdominal SQ fat was more than two and a half times greater, and the ratio of IA to thigh fat was four times greater in the older men. In a previous study of Japanese Americans, those with diabetes mellitus had more central and IA fat than nondiabetic Japanese Americans, but less than older Caucasians. However, healthy Japanese men appear to have a higher IA-to-SQ fat ratio, and it should be noted that this population has a higher prevalence of diabetes and glucose intolerance than Caucasians or Japanese in Japan. It is not clear whether the absolute or the relative amount of IA fat has more to do with the metabolic complications of obesity. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1990
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Can an index of aging be constructed for evaluating treatments to retard aging rates? A 2,462-person study
Article Abstract:
Different individuals of the same species age at different rates, but so far the mechanism that determines which will age faster, and why, is unknown. There is a growing interest in biomarkers of aging, and what they may reveal about the aging process and what can be done to retard it. So far it has not been possible to identify any clear-cut biomarkers. This study applied a general mathematical method for combining scores from 12 physiological tests and 17 risk factors into one score, the standardized biological age (SBA), to 2,462 office workers. The biomarker must be more than age-sensitive; it must also respond to life style interventions. The twelve physiological tests turned out to be of little use in the equation; however, the general approach used will be valuable in the validation process in other studies. The results of the research suggest that diet and life-style modifications to lower the risk of major disease can also slow the onset of important declines in other physiological processes as well. Among the risk factors that affected both sexes were: cigarette smoking, eating red meat, drinking alcohol, intensity of exercise and a composite exercise score, life expectancy at birth and at age 45 in the state of residence, education, and race. For men only, SBA was affected by eating high-fat foods. For women, contentment scores, hours of sleep, father living to age 75, taking vitamin and mineral supplements, especially vitamin C were significant. Mother living to age 75 and coffee drinking were not significant for men or women. Aging is a complex process, but a few biomarkers may be representative of many, so it may not be necessary to identify them all. Because the SBA responds to changes in risk factors, it is measuring something beyond the obvious physiological decline. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1990
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