International journal of obesity : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
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Obesity and shorter telomeres are commonly associated with elevated risk for age-related diseases and mortality. Whether telomere length (TL) may be associated with obesity or variations in adiposity is not well established. Therefore, we set out to test the hypothesis that TL may be a risk factor for increased adiposity using data from a large population-based cohort study. ⋯ Our study suggests that shorter TL may be a risk factor for increased adiposity. Coupling with previous reports on their reversed roles, the relationship between adiposity and TL may be complicated and may warrant more prospective studies.
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To investigate whether old age frailty is predicted by midlife overweight/obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. ⋯ Overweight/obesity and higher CAD risk in midlife were associated with frailty 26 years later. Preventing old age frailty should be recognized as an important goal of obesity and CVD risk control.
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Numerous studies have documented an obesity paradox in which the overweight and obese elderly have a better prognosis than those with ideal body weight. Good prognosis among the overweight or obese elderly may reflect the relative safety of storing the harmful lipophilic chemicals, known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), in adipose tissue rather than in other critical organs. Therefore, we hypothesized lower mortality among the obese elderly with a higher body burden of POPs, but this pattern may not exist among the obese elderly with a lower body burden of POPs. ⋯ These findings are consistent with our hypothesis that adipose tissue provides relatively safe storage of toxic lipophilic chemicals, a phenomenon that could explain the obesity paradox. Although weight loss may be beneficial among the obese elderly with low POP concentrations, weight loss in the obese elderly with higher serum concentrations of POPs may carry some risk.
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Comparative Study
Can body fat distribution, adiponectin levels and inflammation explain differences in insulin resistance between ethnic Chinese, Malays and Asian Indians?
Diabetes in Asia constitutes approximately half of the global burden. Although insulin resistance and incidence of type 2 diabetes differ substantially between ethnic groups within Asia, the reasons for these differences are poorly understood. We evaluated to what extent body fatness, adiponectin levels and inflammation mediate the relationship between ethnicity and insulin resistance in an Asian setting. ⋯ Mediators of ethnic differences in insulin resistance differed markedly depending on the ethnic groups compared. General adiposity explained the difference in insulin resistance between Chinese and Malays, whereas abdominal fat distribution, inflammation and unexplained factors contributed to excess insulin resistance in Asian Indians as compared with Chinese and Malays. These findings suggest that interventions targeting excess weight gain can reduce ethnic disparities in insulin resistance among Asian Indians, Chinese and Malays.