Intra-abdominal fat accumulation is greatest at younger ages in Japanese-American adults.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated whether changes over 10-11 years in weight, subcutaneous abdominal fat (SQAF), and intra-abdominal fat (IAF) differ by age and contrasted age-related adiposity changes by gender.


METHODS
This is a prospective cohort study of non-diabetic, Japanese-American men and women aged 34-74 years. IAF and SQAF were measured by CT scan at baseline and 10-11-year follow-up visits.


RESULTS
The youngest participants gained the most weight, SQAF and IAF over 10-11 years. Older age at baseline was associated with significantly less change in weight (beta-coefficient: -0.19, 95% CI -0.22, -0.15), SQAF (beta-coefficient: -0.07, 95% CI -0.11, -0.02) and IAF (beta-coefficient: -0.74, 95% CI -1.03, -0.45) that persisted even after adjustments for sex, smoking, caloric intake, adiposity at baseline, and change in physical activity. Age was positively correlated with change in SQAF (beta-coefficient: 0.14, 95% CI 0.10, 0.18) and IAF (beta-coefficient: 0.51, 95% CI 0.21, 0.81) in separate models after further adjustment for weight change. Gender did not alter the associations between adiposity change and age.


CONCLUSIONS
Men and women gained the greatest absolute amount of weight, SQAF, and IAF at younger ages; however, older adults with comparable weight changes had relatively greater fat accumulation within IAF and SQAF depots.
Lee
Christine G
CG
Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Clinical Nutrition, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239-3098, USA. leechr@ohsu.edu
Fujimoto
Wilfred Y
WY
Brunzell
John D
JD
Kahn
Steven E
SE
McNeely
Marguerite J
MJ
Leonetti
Donna L
DL
Boyko
Edward J
EJ
D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000208:ethnology*; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001835:Body Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
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