title: Truncal and leg fat associations with metabolic risk factors among Chinese adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the associations of regional body fat distribution with metabolic risk factors among Chinese.
  
  
  METHODS
  Truncal fat (TF) and leg fat (LF) were measured by dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) among 947 adults, and abdominal visceral fat (VAT) and subcutaneous fat (SAT), upper leg SAT were measured by magnetic resonance image (MRI) among 103 adults during 2008-2013. Metabolic risk factors included fasting blood glucose, total triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and metabolic syndrome (MetS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  TF showed adverse effect while LF showed beneficial effect on metabolic risk factors, and all these effects were independent of body mass index (BMI) (mostly p<0.01). Individuals with higher TF and lower LF experienced the highest risk of MetS compared to other subgroups of combination of TF and LF (all p<0.05). Abdominal VAT was positively associated with risk of MetS (men: odds ratio (OR)=4.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18, 16.8; women: OR=6.54, 95% CI: 1.08, 39.6) and serum triglyceride (men: beta (β)=0.379, 95% CI: 0.090, 0.667; women: β=0.700, 95% CI: 0.327, 1.07). Upper leg SAT showed an opposite association with most metabolic factors compared to abdominal SAT and VAT, however, the association was not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TF and LF showed opposite effects on metabolic risk factors among Chinese adults. Abdominal VAT, but not abdominal SAT, was positively associated with serum triglyceride and risk of MetS. Future studies are warranted to examine the potential mechanism of the opposite effects between TF and LF on metabolic risk factors among Chinese.
authors.affiliation: Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Chaonan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. Email: zsk@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shankuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat; D007866:Leg; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides