Specific characterization of regional storage fat in upper and lower limbs of young healthy adults.

Junichiro Yamauchi,Maki Yoshikawa,Sadayoshi Taguchi,Toshiyuki Kurihara,Takeshi Hashimoto

doi:10.1186/s40064-015-1181-6

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the specific characterization of regional storage fat in the upper limb as compared to the lower limb of young healthy adults. The regional storage fat and skeletal muscle in upper and lower limbs were obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). For MRI measurements, images at the continuous anatomical cross-sectional areas of subcutaneous adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in the upper arm and thigh were selected for the analysis. Values measured by MRI were larger than those measured by BIA. MRI data showed that the percentage of fat was significantly higher in the upper arm compared to the thigh in both men and women. This study suggests that BIA results in a significantly different estimation of the whole body and limb composition when compared to MRI and that MRI is useful to determine regional specificities in the limb composition. From these quantified evaluation, we found significantly large amount of regional storage fat in upper limbs of young healthy adults, especially women.

Highlights

Modern lifestyles increase the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, which is associated with increased body fat
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data showed that the percentage of fat in the upper arm was significantly higher than that in thigh for both men and women (p < 0.01)
Gender differences were present in the fat percentage of the upper limb/upper arm and lower limb/thigh measured by both methods (p < 0.01)

Summary

Introduction

Modern lifestyles increase the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, which is associated with increased body fat. An increase in adipose tissue and decreased muscle mass causes decreased peripheral uptake of glucose and insulin resistance (Jocken and Blaak 2008; Roubenoff 2000). Metabolic syndrome contributes to atherosclerosis, causing reduced blood flow in the limbs. To maintain a good health status and understand the chronic metabolic responses in our body, measuring body composition is important (Lohman 1992). There are several ways to assess our body composition. Classical methods used to estimate human body composition include underwater

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