Increased oxidative stress and hypozincemia in male obesity.
OBJECTIVE
Antioxidants protect an organism from the detrimental effects of free radicals via scavenging or inhibiting their formation. Alterations in the levels of antioxidants and several essential trace elements in the plasma and various tissues of ob/ob mice have been reported previously. The aim of this study was to investigate oxidative status and trace elements in obese individuals.


METHODS
Seventy-six obese men (body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m(2)) and 24 healthy, age-matched male control volunteers were enrolled in the study. Fasting plasma insulin, glucose, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol, VLDL, and HDL levels, erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and copper zinc-superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD) activities, and erythrocyte thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels were measured in both groups. Erythrocyte copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) levels were also measured.


RESULTS
We found that the mean Cu and Fe levels in obese individuals were not significantly different than those in the control group, whereas the mean Zn levels were significantly lower than those of the control group (p = 0.023). The mean erythrocyte CuZn-SOD and GSH-Px levels in obese individuals were significantly lower than those in controls (p = 0.001) whereas erythrocyte TBARS levels were significantly higher (p = 0.001) than those of the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that male obesity is associated with defective antioxidant status and hypozincemia, which may have implications in the development of obesity related health problems.
Ozata
Metin
M
Department of Endocrinology, Gulhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. mozata@gata.edu.tr
Mergen
Mehmet
M
Oktenli
Cagatay
C
Aydin
Ahmet
A
Sanisoglu
S Yavuz
SY
Bolu
Erol
E
Yilmaz
M Ilker
MI
Sayal
Ahmet
A
Isimer
Askin
A
Ozdemir
I Caglayan
IC
D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood* / Q000172:deficiency
D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D015032:Zinc