Line Q. Bendtsen

Differential effects of endurance training and weight loss on plasma adiponectin multimers and adipose tissue macrophages in younger, moderately overweight men

Obese individuals are characterized by low circulating adiponectin concentrations and an increased number of macrophages in adipose tissue, which is believed to be causally associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance. Regular physical exercise decreases overall morbidity in obese subjects, which may be due to modulations of inflammatory pathways. In this randomized clinical trial we investigated the separate effects of endurance training-induced weight loss, diet-induced weight loss, and endurance training per se (without weight loss) on plasma adiponectin multimer composition (Western blotting) and adipose tissue macrophage content (immunohistochemistry) in young, moderately overweight men. Weight loss and endurance training per se decreased whole body fat percentage in an additive manner. No intervention-induced changes were observed for plasma total adiponectin. Surprisingly, endurance training, irrespectively of any associated weight loss, shifted the adiponectin multimer distribution toward a lower molecular weight (21% decrease in HMW/LMW, P = 0.015), whereas diet-induced weight loss shifted the distribution toward a higher molecular weight (42% increase in HMW/MMW, P < 0.001). Furthermore, endurance training per se increased the number of anti-inflammatory CD163⁺ macrophages [from 12.7 ± 2.1 (means ± SE) to 16.1 ± 3.1 CD163⁺ cells/100 adipocytes, P = 0.013], whereas diet-induced weight loss tended to decrease CD68⁺ macrophages in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue. Thus regular physical exercise influences systemic and adipose tissue inflammatory pathways differently than diet-induced weight loss in younger, moderately overweight men. Our data suggest that some of the health benefits of a physically active lifestyle may occur through modulations of anti- rather than pro-inflammatory pathways in young, overweight men.

Associations between dairy protein intake and body weight and risk markers of diabetes and CVD during weight maintenance

Dairy products have previously been reported to be associated with beneficial effects on body weight and metabolic risk markers. Moreover, primary data from the Diet, Obesity and Genes (DiOGenes) study indicate a weight-maintaining effect of a high-protein-low-glycaemic index diet. The objective of the present study was to examine putative associations between consumption of dairy proteins and changes in body weight and metabolic risk markers after weight loss in obese and overweight adults. Results were based on secondary analyses of data obtained from overweight and obese adults who completed the DiOGenes study. The study consisted of an 8-week weight-loss phase and a 6-month weight-maintenance (WM) phase, where the subjects were given five different diets varying in protein content and glycaemic index. In the present study, data obtained from all the subjects were pooled. Dairy protein intake was estimated from 3 d dietary records at two time points (week 4 and week 26) during the WM phase. Body weight and metabolic risk markers were determined at baseline (week -9 to -11) and before and at the end of the WM phase (week 0 and week 26). Overall, no significant associations were found between consumption of dairy proteins and changes in body weight and metabolic risk markers. However, dairy protein intake tended to be negatively associated with body weight gain (P=0·08; β=-0·17), but this was not persistent when controlled for total protein intake, which indicates that dairy protein adds no additional effect to the effect of total protein. Therefore, the present study does not report that dairy proteins are more favourable than other proteins for body weight regulation.

Prevotella -to- Bacteroides ratio predicts body weight and fat loss success on 24-week diets varying in macronutrient composition and dietary fiber: results from a post-hoc analysis

Background/objectivesIndividuals with high pre-treatment bacterial Prevotella-to-Bacteroides (P/B) ratio have been reported to lose more body weight on diets high in fiber than subjects with a low P/B ratio. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine potential differences in dietary weight loss responses between participants with low and high P/B.Subjects/methodsEighty overweight participants were randomized (52 completed) to a 500 kcal/d energy deficit diet with a macronutrient composition of 30 energy percentage (E%) fat, 52 E% carbohydrate and 18 E% protein either high (≈1500 mg calcium/day) or low ( ≤ 600 mg calcium/day) in dairy products for 24 weeks. Body weight, body fat, and dietary intake (by 7-day dietary records) were determined. Individuals were dichotomized according to their pre-treatment P/B ratio derived from 16S rRNA gene sequencing of collected fecal samples to test the potential modification of dietary effects using linear mixed models.ResultsIndependent of the randomized diets, individuals with high P/B lost 3.8 kg (95%CI, 1.8,5.8; P < 0.001) more body weight and 3.8 kg (95% CI, 1.1, 6.5; P = 0.005) more body fat compared to individuals with low P/B. After adjustment for multiple covariates, individuals with high P/B ratio lost 8.3 kg (95% CI, 5.8;10.9, P < 0.001) more body weight when consuming above compared to below 30 g fiber/10MJ whereas this weight loss was 3.2 kg (95% CI, 0.8;5.5, P = 0.008) among individuals with low P/B ratio [Mean difference: 5.1 kg (95% CI, 1.7;8.6, P = 0.003)]. Partial correlation coefficients between fiber intake and weight change was 0.90 (P < 0.001) among individuals with high P/B ratio and 0.25 (P = 0.29) among individuals with low P/B ratio.ConclusionsIndividuals with high P/B lost more body weight and body fat compared to individuals with low P/B, confirming that individuals with a high P/B are more susceptible to weight loss on a diet rich in fiber.

High intake of dairy during energy restriction does not affect energy balance or the intestinal microflora compared with low dairy intake in overweight individuals in a randomized controlled trial

During weight loss, dairy calcium is proposed to accelerate weight and fat-mass loss through increased fecal fat excretion. The primary objective was to investigate if a high-dairy energy-restricted diet is superior to low dairy in terms of changes in body weight, body composition, and fecal fat excretion over 24 weeks. Secondary objectives included fecal energy and calcium excretion, resting energy expenditure, blood pressure, lipid metabolism, and gut microbiota. In a randomized, parallel-arm intervention study, 11 men and 69 women (body mass index, 30.6 ± 0.3 kg/m2; age, 44 ± 1 years) were allocated to a 500-kcal (2100 kJ) -deficit diet that was either high (HD: 1500 mg calcium/day) or low (LD: 600 mg calcium/day) in dairy products for 24 weeks. Habitual calcium intake was ∼1000 mg/day. Body weight loss (HD: -6.6 ± 1.3 kg, LD: -7.9 ± 1.5 kg, P = 0.73), fat-mass loss (HD: -7.8% ± 1.3%, LD: -8.5% ± 1.1%, P = 0.76), changes in fecal fat excretion (HD: -0.57 ± 0.76 g, LD: 0.46 ± 0.70 g, P = 0.12), and microbiota composition were similar for the groups over 24 weeks. However, total fat-mass loss was positively associated with relative abundance of Papillibacter (P = 0.017) independent of diet group. Consumption of a high-dairy diet did not increase fecal fat or accelerate weight and fat-mass loss beyond energy restriction over 24 weeks in overweight and obese adults with a habitual calcium intake of ∼1000 mg/day. However, this study indicates that Papillibacter is involved in body compositional changes.

The effect of casein, hydrolyzed casein, and whey proteins on urinary and postprandial plasma metabolites in overweight and moderately obese human subjects

BACKGROUND Casein and whey proteins differ in amino acid composition and absorption rate; however, the absorption rate of casein can be increased to mimic that of whey proteins by exogenous hydrolysis. In view of these compositional differences, we studied the metabolic responses to intake of casein, hydrolyzed casein, and whey proteins in overweight and moderately obese men and women by investigating select urinary and blood plasma metabolites. RESULTS A total of 21 urinary and 23 plasma metabolites were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The postprandial plasma metabolites revealed a significant diet-time interaction for isoleucine (P = 0.001) and tyrosine (P = 0.001). The level of isoleucine and tyrosine peaked 90 min postprandially with a 1.4-fold difference following intake of whey proteins compared with either casein or hydrolyzed casein. A 1.2-fold higher urinary level of lactate was observed after intake of whey proteins compared with intake of intact casein (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION The plasma metabolites revealed different amino acid profiles reflecting the amino acid composition of casein and whey proteins. Furthermore, the results support that casein hydrolysates neither affect the postprandial amino acid absorption rate nor the amino acid level compared with that of intact casein. The urinary lactate increases following whey protein intake might indicate a higher metabolism of glucogenic amino acids.