Large-scale body composition study reveals link between specific fat distributions and metabolic diseases and is published in Obesity- AMRA Medical

Specific patterns of fat distribution are linked to the presence of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), according to a new study published in Obesity. AMRA, the international leader in body composition analysis,has announced the results of a body composition study of over 6,000 subjects, stressing the need to measure and investigate several fat compartments in order to understand and develop treatments for multiple metabolic diseases. The new findings go far beyond what can be described by sex, age, lifestyle, BMI, or a single fat compartment, and have the potential to strongly impact how metabolic conditions will be prevented and managed in the future.

The Obesity study was co-authored in collaboration between AMRA, Pfizer, Westminster University, Linköping University, and UK Biobank. The 6,000 subjects analyzed are part of the UK Biobank Imaging Study, a major national and international health resource. In 2015, UK Biobank announced that AMRA would perform the automated analysis of MRI images for precise fat and muscle measurements. AMRA has now developed the technique of body composition profiling, which allows for precise analysis of multiple variables to describe the complex associations and interactions between fat distribution, muscle volumes, and metabolic status.

Regardless of normal, overweight, or obese BMI class, AMRA’s body composition profiling of the subjects revealed a number of skewed fat distribution patterns, or phenotypes, that cannot be described when looking at a single fat or muscle measurement. These phenotypes are associated with different metabolic disease profiles: some exhibit no metabolic disease, while others exhibit CHD, T2D, or the co-morbidity of the two. Specifically, higher visceral fat and muscle fat was associated with CHD and T2D (p<0.001) while higher liver fat was associated with T2D (p<0.001) and lower liver fat with CHD (p<0.05). Lower visceral fat and muscle fat was also associated with metabolic health (p<0.001), whereas liver fat was non-significant. Associations remained significant when adjusting for sex, age, BMI, alcohol, smoking, and physical activity.

See- Body Composition Profiling in the UK Biobank Imaging Study