Waist Circumference and BMI Are Strongly Correlated with MRI-Derived Fat Compartments in Young Adults.

Duanghathai Pasanta,Hong Joo Kim,Suchart Kothan,Singkome Tima,Khin Thandar Htun,Jie Pan,Montree Tungjai,Jakrapong Kæwkhao,Siriprapa Kaewjaeng,Sirirat Chancharunee

doi:10.3390/life11070643

Duanghathai Pasanta, Hong Joo Kim + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/life11070643

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Abstract

Young adulthood is increasingly considered as a vulnerable age group for significant weight gain, and it is apparent that there is an increasing number of new cases of metabolic syndrome developing among this population. This study included 60 young adult volunteers (18–26 years old). All participants obtained a calculated total abdominal fat percentage, subcutaneous fat percentage, and visceral fat percentage using a semiautomatic segmentation technique from T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of the abdomen. The results show strongest correlation between abdominal fat and BMI (r = 0.824) followed by subcutaneous fat (r = 0.768), and visceral fat (r = 0.633) respectively, (p < 0.001 for all, after having been adjusted for age and gender). Among anthropometric measurements, waist circumference showed strong correlation with all fat compartments (r = 0.737 for abdominal, r = 0.707 for subcutaneous fat, and r = 0.512 for visceral fat; p < 0.001 for all). The results obtained from examining the blood revealed that there was a moderate positive correlation relationship between all fat compartments with triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, and fasting glucose levels (p < 0.05 for all). This study suggests that both BMI and waist circumference could be used to assess the fat compartments and treatment targets to reduce the risk of metabolic disorders and health risks in the young adult population.

Highlights

This study has shown that MR images allow for simple, non-invasive, and non-radiation examinations and is an efficient method for the semi-automatic identification and quantification of fat compartments, including abdominal, subcutaneous, and visceral fat in the young adult population
This study has shown that MR images, obtained from 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can be utilized to assess the abdominal adipose tissue compartments in the young adult population and allow for the semi-automatic identification and quantification of visceral and subcutaneous tissue non-invasively, rather than by examinations performed in clinical imaging diagnoses, such as X-ray examination and Computed tomography (CT) examination since both expose the human body to harmful radiation
A fat assessment from MRI can determine the fat percentage accumulated in each organ

Summary

Introduction

There is a growing body of literature that recognizes this age group as a vulnerable time for developing unhealthy lifestyles and poor dietary habits and is at risk of significant weight gain [2]. These negative habits have been associated with the alteration of the environment, academic stress, responsibility, and independent lifestyles during this transition stage [3]. A metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and type 2 diabetes [6,7]. These risk factors include dyslipidemia, dysglycaemia, central obesity, hypertension, and insulin resistance [7]

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