Table 1.
Clinical and metabolic characteristics of the obese adolescents undergoing fat biopsy
| Low VAT/(VAT + SAT) (n = 7) | High VAT/(VAT + SAT) (n = 8) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 17.1 (13–20) | 16.1 (12–20) | 0.43 |
| Race (Caucasian/African American/Hispanic), n | 3/1/3 | 2/0/6 | 0.34 |
| Tanner stage (III/IV/V), n | 1/2/4 | 1/3/4 | 0.94 |
| Anthropometrics | |||
| Weight (kg) | 96.4 (66.4–135.6) | 96.0 (59.4–120.8) | 0.97 |
| Height (m) | 1.623 (1.49–1.70) | 1.632 (1.57–1.73) | 0.79 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 36.6 (25.9–48.0) | 36.0 (23.6–45.5) | 0.88 |
| % fat | 45.9 (39.7–50.2) | 46.6 (38.9–55.2) | 0.80 |
| Lean body mass (kg) | 51.6 (38.3–70.7) | 49.7 (36.2–59.0) | 0.74 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 114.4 (91–127) | 115.8 (107–121) | 0.80 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 72.4 (67–79) | 66.0 (50–80) | 0.13 |
| Body fat distribution | |||
| Visceral (cm2) | 58.8 (34.2–81.2) | 105.2 (57.4–172.8) | 0.02 |
| Subcutaneous (cm2) | 627.3 (374.8–843.8) | 577.0 (306.6–940.6) | 0.63 |
| Superficial subcutaneous (cm2) | 201.5 (122.6–266.3) | 165.9 (73.0–279.3) | 0.29 |
| Deep subcutaneous (cm2) | 192.9 (106.5–295.2) | 181.0 (100.7–317.4) | 0.45 |
| VAT/(VAT + SAT) ratio | 0.086 (0.060–0.100) | 0.168 (0.107–0.230) | 0.001 |
| Waist-to-hip ratio (cm) | 0.89 (0.87–0.97) | 0.92 (0.82–1.0) | 0.38 |
| Body composition | |||
| % total body fat | 47.9 (43.4–51.3) | 47.2 (44.1–52.1) | 0.68 |
| Total body fat (kg) | 43.6 (30.8–52.4) | 45.1 (27.4–62.8) | 0.81 |
| Lean body mass (kg) | 44.4 (34.3–49.3) | 47.5 (32.5–56.9) | 0.48 |
| Android fat mass (kg) | 3.64 (2.45–5.11) | 3.84 (2.48–6.14) | 0.77 |
| Android fat %1 | 8.23 (6.77–9.80) | 8.48 (7.55–9.78) | 0.65 |
| Gynoid fat mass (kg) | 7.44 (5.78–9.15) | 7.29 (4.25–10.97) | 0.90 |
| Gynoid fat %1 | 17.1 (15.9–18.8) | 15.9 (14.1–17.5) | 0.06 |
| Android-gynoid ratio2 | 1.02 (0.92–1.11) | 1.04 (0.97–1.08) | 0.57 |
| Metabolic measurements | |||
| Fasting glucose (mg/dL) | 90.9 (85–96) | 94.9 (86–125) | 0.47 |
| 2-h glucose (mg/dL) | 113.9 (96–133) | 126.4 (87–203) | 0.39 |
| Fasting insulin (μU/mL) | 19.2 (10–32) | 44.4 (12–101) | 0.03 |
| 2-h insulin (μU/mL) | 83.7 (26–137) | 201.9 (50–559) | 0.03 |
| Whole-body insulin sensitivity index | 2.47 (1.55–3.41) | 1.40 (0.45–2.55) | 0.02 |
| Adiponectin (ng/mL) | 6.38 (4.84–8.55) | 5.52 (4.35–7.26) | 0.25 |
| Leptin (ng/mL) | 58.9 (37.5–85.9) | 77.2 (29.4–188.6) | 0.42 |
| Lipids | |||
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 167.8 (141–209) | 146.6 (117–222) | 0.22 |
| HDL (mg/dL) | 43.2 (30–67) | 35.0 (29–47) | 0.21 |
| LDL (mg/dL) | 117.0 (69.4–144) | 81.2 (67–98) | 0.02 |
| TG (mg/dL) | 97.3 (50–193) | 121.4 (49–183) | 0.39 |
| FFA (μmol/L) | 476 (338–685) | 435 (229–568) | 0.56 |
| Liver | |||
| HFF (%) | 0.19 (0–0.8) | 7.4 (2.6–21.0) | 0.002 |
| Alanine aminotransferase (units/L) | 17.2 (7–56) | 77.3 (11–232) | 0.14 |
| AST (units/L) | 19.8 (6–38) | 55.0 (11–174) | 0.19 |
Demographic, anthropometric, and metabolic characteristics are shown for 15 obese adolescent females undergoing abdominal and gluteal fat biopsies. Data are shown as mean (range) unless otherwise indicated, and values in boldface type are P values <0.05 using unpaired Student t test, adjusted for age, race, and BMI.
1Of total fat mass.
2This ratio is determined by dividing the percentages of fat per depot.