title: Association of lower limb muscle mass and energy expenditure with visceral fat mass in healthy men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A high-calorie diet and physical inactivity, an imbalance between caloric intake and energy consumption, are major causes of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which manifests as accumulation of visceral fat and insulin resistance. However, the lifestyle-related factors associated with visceral fat mass in healthy men are not fully understood.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated visceral fat area (VFA), skeletal muscle mass, caloric intake, and energy expenditure in 67 healthy male participants (mean age, 36.9 ± 8.8 years; body mass index 23.4 ± 2.5 kg/m2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multiple regression analysis showed that the total skeletal muscle mass (P < 0.001) were negatively and age (P < 0.001) were positively associated with VFA. Lower limb muscle mass (P < 0.001) was strongly associated with VFA. However, total caloric intake, total energy expenditure, and energy expenditure during exercise were not associated with VFA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skeletal muscle mass especially lower limb muscle mass negatively contributes to visceral fat mass in healthy men. Therefore, maintaining lower limb muscular fitness through daily activity may be a useful strategy for controlling visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors.forename: Shusuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors.forename: Muneyuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kadota
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Sciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken-Ichi
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Aihara
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Tokushima University Hospital, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ise
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwase
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akaike
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardio-Diabetes Medicine, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimabukuro
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Tokushima University Hospital, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokushima Graduate School of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sata