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The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between the distribution of adipose tissue, sexual hormones and hyperinsulinemia in male obesity. Fifty-two obese males, aged 40.0 +/- 10.9 years old and with a body mass index (BMI) of 35.0 +/- 6.1 (m +/- SD), not suffering from diabetes or any other endocrine disease, were included in the study. A group of 20 subjects aged 30.5 +/- 7.9 (p less than 0.005 vs obese subjects) and with a BMI of 23.0 +/- 2.0 were used as controls. Body fat distribution was assessed using the waist/hip ratio (w/h ratio): 0.985 +/- 0.052 in obese subjects and 0.913 +/- 0.061 in controls (p less than 0.005). In comparison to control subjects, significantly lower levels of total (T) (357 +/- 132 vs 498 +/- 142 ng/dl; p less than 0.005) and free testosterone (FT) (14.2 +/- 2.9 vs 17.1 +/- 2.6 pg/ml; p less than 0.05) were found in the obese group, as well sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) (41.7 +/- 31.9 vs 66.2 +/- 18.6 nmol/l; p less than 0.001). None of the other steroids (androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate, estrone, 17 beta-estradiol, dihydrotestosterone) or FSH and LH gonadotropins assayed differed between the two groups. Significantly higher levels of insulin and C-peptide, both fasting and after a oral glucose tolerance test, were also found in obese subjects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The study of body composition is becoming increasingly important in the field of nutritional medicine. The possibility of assessing body composition easily and economically has therefore raised considerable interest. Using straightforward correlations, we have compared the data obtained from the assessment of BF% using plicometry, impedance analysis and the interactivity of close-infrared rays; in addition, we studied the possible influence of the distribution of fatty tissue, expressed as W/H, on the results obtained using these methods. One hundred and forty-eight subjects (51 M and 97 F) were studied aged between 13 and 76 years old, with BMI ranging between 16.8 and 56.4; subjects were divided into three groups according to BMI and W/H. The three methods proved to be well correlated in patients with BMI less than 30 (r between 0.92 and 0.74), whereas correlations were less marked and less significant in groups with BMI greater than 30. W/H seemed capable of influencing results obtained using these methods and this was more evident in results obtained using impedance analysis (p less than 0.0001). The three methods studied were comparable in normal weight and slightly overweight patients, whereas contrasting findings were obtained in patients with moderate and severe obesity. Extreme caution must therefore be used in interpreting the data obtained in these subjects.

10 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, in stable weight and diet therapy, followed a 2 months nutritional supplementation with guar, 15 g/day. Their previous nutritional and pharmacological therapy was not modified throughout the study. No changes occurred in body weight or major parameters of metabolic control. However, a significant fall occurred in fasting plasma, total and LDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B concentrations. Insulin sensitivity, measured by the "steady state plasma glucose", obtained after a 150 min glucose-insulin-somatostatin infusion, improved in all patients but two. A significant correlation was observed between steady state plasma glucose variations, the glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (r = 0.70; p less than 0.005), total (r = 0.77; p less than 0.001), and LDL cholesterol (r = 0.69; p less than 0.005) and apolipoprotein B concentrations (r = 0.75; p less than 0.005).