Cardiometabolic Index (CMI) and Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) Highlight a Higher Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Women with Severe Obesity

Recent evidence shows that simple and inexpensive anthropometric measurements can be used to identify, at an early stage, women with obesity at increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS). Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of five different indexes of adiposity and/or body composition in identifying MetS in a group of 876 women (mean age ± SD: 52.1 ± 13.8 years; body mass index (BMI): 43.6 ± 6.1 kg m−2). The following indexes were determined for each subject: waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WtHR), body mass fat index (BMFI), visceral adiposity index (VAI), and cardiometabolic index (CMI). Overall, the presence of MetS was detected in 544 patients (62%). Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the relationships between body composition indexes and metabolic characteristics of the women. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine the best predictor for each adiposity index among metabolic risk factors. The ROC analysis showed VAI (AUC = 0.84) and CMI (AUC = 0.86) showed the best performance in predicting MetS. Differences were found between the ROC area of CMI and VAI with all other indexes (p 0.92 for WHR, >0.76 for WtHR, >30.1 kg m−1 for BMFI, >1.94 for VAI, and >0.84 for CMI. In addition, VAI and CMI were the most sensitive and specific indexes compared with other indexes. In conclusion, VAI and CMI represent the most useful and reliable indexes to be used for detecting MetS in women suffering from obesity in clinical practice

Effects of combined training or moderate intensity continuous training during a 3-week multidisciplinary body weight reduction program on cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and substrate oxidation rate in adolescents with obesity

This study aimed to investigate the effects of combined training (COMB, a combination of moderate-intensity continuous training-MICT and high-intensity interval training-HIIT) vs. continuous MICT administered during a 3-week in-hospital body weight reduction program (BWRP) on body composition, physical capacities, and substrate oxidation in adolescents with obesity. The 3-week in-hospital BWRP entailed moderate energy restriction, nutritional education, psychological counseling, and two different protocols of physical exercise. Twenty-one male adolescents with obesity (mean age: 16.1 ± 1.5 years; mean body mass index [BMI] 37.8 ± 4.5 kg m−2) participated in this randomized control trial study (n:10 for COMB, n:11 MICT), attending ~ 30 training sessions. The COMB group performed 3 repetitions of 2 min at 95% of peak oxygen uptake (V′O2 peak) (e.g., HIIT ≤ 20%), followed by 30 min at 60% of V′O2 peak (e.g., MICT ≥ 80%). Body composition, V′O2 peak, basal metabolic rate (BMR), energy expenditure, and substrate oxidation rate were measured during the first week (W0) and at the end of three weeks of training (W3). The two training programs were equivalent in caloric expenditure. At W3, body mass (BM) and fat mass (FM) decreased significantly in both groups, although the decrease in BM was significantly greater in the MICT group than in the COMB group (BM: − 5.0 ± 1.2 vs. − 8.4 ± 1.5, P < 0.05; FM: − 4.3 ± 3.0 vs. − 4.2 ± 1.9 kg, P < 0.05). V′O2 peak increased only in the COMB by a mean of 0.28 ± 0.22 L min−1 (P < 0.05). The maximal fat oxidation rate (MFO) increased only in the COMB group by 0.04 ± 0.03 g min−1 (P < 0.05). COMB training represents a viable alternative to MICT for improving anthropometric characteristics, physical capacities, and MFO in adolescents with obesity during a 3-week in-hospital BWRP

Corrigendum: Effects of a 3-week inpatient multidisciplinary body weight reduction program on body composition and physical capabilities in adolescents and adults with obesity

A correction has been made to Funding. The correct Funding statement is: “Research funded by the Italian Ministry of Health.” The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated

Improvement of adiponectin in relation to physical performance and body composition in young obese males subjected to twenty-four weeks of training programs

Obesity and related metabolic diseases represent a worldwide health problem. The main factor predisposing to obesity is an unhealthy lifestyle including the lack of physical activity. A pivotal role in the etio-pathogenesis of obesity is carried out by adipose tissue, an endocrine organ secreting several adipokines involved in numerous metabolic and inflammatory processes. Among these, of particular importance is adiponectin, an adipokine involved in the regulation of insulin sensibility and in anti-inflammatory processes. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of 24 weeks of two different training programs polarized (POL) and threshold training (THR) on body composition, physical capacities and adiponectin expression. Thirteen male obese subjects (BMI: 32.0 ± 3.0 kg m-2) followed 24 weeks of two different training programs, POL and THR, consisting of walking or running (or a combination of the two methods) in their normal living conditions. Before (T0) and after the end of the program (T1), the assessment of body composition was assessed by bioelectrical impedance and the concentration of salivary and serum adiponectin was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blotting. Although the results obtained did not show significant differences between the two training programs, body mass and body mass index decreased by a mean of −4.46 ± 2.90 kg and 1.43 ± 0.92 kg m−2 (P < 0.05). Fat mass decreased by −4.47 ± 2.78 kg (P < 0.05). V′O2max increased by a mean of 0.20 ± 0.26 L min−1 (P < 0.05) Also, we observed an increase in saliva and in serum of adiponectin concentrations at T1 compared to T0 by 4.72 ± 3.52 μg mL−1 and 5.22 ± 4.74 ng mL−1 (P < 0.05) respectively. Finally, we found significant correlations between Δ serum adiponectin and Δ Hip (R = −0.686, P = 0.001) and between Δ salivary adiponectin and ΔWaist (R = −0.678, P = 0.011). Our results suggest that a 24 weeks training program, independently from intensity and volume, induces an amelioration of body composition and fitness performance. These improvements are associated with an increase in total and HMW adiponectin expression in both saliva and in serum

Prediction of resting energy expenditure in Italian older adults with severe obesity

Background: In the last decade a large number of studies proposed and/or validated equations to estimate the Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) in adults and/or older adults, however, no equation currently available showed good accuracy for older adults with severe obesity. Thus, this study aimed to develop and validate new predictive equations for REE, based on data from the indirect calorimetry, in Italian older adults with severe obesity. Methods: A retrospective study was as conducted with 764 Caucasian older adults with severe obesity (age range: 60-74 years and BMI ≥ 35 kg/m/2). Four models were used to test the accuracy of anthropometry and body composition variables in multivariable prediction of REE. All models were derived by stepwise multiple regression analysis using a calibration group of 382 subjects [295 females and 87 males] and the equations were cross-validated in the remaining 382 subjects [295 females and 87 males] as validation group. The new prediction equations and the other published equations were tested using the Bland-Altman method. Prediction accuracy was defined as the percentage of subjects whose REE was predicted within ± 10% of measured REE. Results: All the equations analyzed predicted higher energy requirements for males than females, and most of them underestimated the energy requirement values of our sample. The highest accuracy values were observed in the new equations, with 62% in the anthropometric model and 63% in the body composition model. Conclusion: Although the accuracy of our equations was slightly higher in comparison with the other taken into consideration, they cannot be considered completely satisfactory for predicting REE in Italians older adults with severe obesity. When predicting equations cannot guarantee precise or acceptable values of REE, the use of indirect calorimetry (if available) should be always recommended, especially in clinical practice

Predictive factors of responsiveness to a body weight reduction program in Prader–Willi patients at 6 years of follow-up

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS), a multisystemic disorder caused by lack of expression of genes on the paternally inherited chromosome 15q11.2-q13 region, is characterized by hyperphagia and childhood-onset morbid obesity, A retrospective cohort study of 60 PWS patients, 38 females and 22 males, undergoing a 6-year rehabilitation program was analysed. Mean age at the time of first admission was 27 ± 7 years, body weight (BW) was 97 kg ± 29 kg and height was 1.53 ± 0.09 m. Twenty-four patients (40%) showed BW loss after 6 years of follow-up, seventeen (28%) remained stable and nineteen (32%) gained BW. Responsiveness in term of BW reduction was less frequent in patients with the UPD karyotype, karyotype del15 being more frequent among responsive patients. Furthermore, responsive PWS subjects had a higher BMI (47 vs. 36 kg/m2), waist (123 vs. 106 cm) and hip (136 vs. 118 cm) circumferences than non-responsive at the time of first hospitalization. Baseline body composition and metabolic parameters did not differentiate between responsive and non-responsive patients. Given the rarity of PWS and relative lack of studies, these results can be considered relevant because based on a relatively large number of PWS patients followed up for a long term period