Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr 7;8(4):36.
doi: 10.3390/jcdd8040036.

Obesity Does Not Interfere with the Cholesterol-Lowering Effect of Plant Stanol Ester Consumption (as Part of a Heart-Healthy Diet)

Piia Simonen  1 , Elisa Arte  2 , Helena Gylling  1
Affiliations

Obesity Does Not Interfere with the Cholesterol-Lowering Effect of Plant Stanol Ester Consumption (as Part of a Heart-Healthy Diet)

Piia Simonen et al. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis. .

Abstract

Dietary modifications including plant stanol ester consumption are recommended measures to control serum and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentrations, but obesity can affect their responses. We investigated whether body mass index (BMI) affects serum cholesterol levels during plant stanol (mainly sitostanol) ester consumption. This ad hoc analysis was based on earlier results of a cross-over, randomized controlled trial of postmenopausal women consuming rapeseed oil-based margarine without or with plant stanol ester (3 g plant stanols/day) for seven weeks. We classified the subjects as normal-weight (BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2, n = 9, mean 22.6 kg/m2) or overweight/obese (BMI > 25 kg/m2, n = 11, mean 28.4 kg/m2), and recalculated the results, focusing on cholesterol absorption, cholesterol synthesis, and fecal steroid outputs. Serum cholesterol levels were similar in the groups during the control diet. Plant stanol ester reduced serum cholesterol by 0.63 ± 0.19 mmol/L (11%) in normal-weight and by 0.75 ± 0.13 mmol/L (12%) in overweight/obese subjects (p < 0.05 for both), and cholesterol absorption was reduced in both groups. However, relative and dietary cholesterol absorption were more effectively reduced in normal-weight subjects. In conclusion, overweight/obesity did not interfere with the serum cholesterol response to plant stanol ester consumption despite substantial differences in cholesterol metabolism between the groups.

Keywords: LDL-cholesterol; atherosclerosis; cholesterol; cholesterol absorption; cholesterol synthesis; coronary artery disease; obesity; overweight; plant stanol ester; sitostanol.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

P.S. and H.G. declare no conflict of interest. E.A. is an employee of Raisio Nutrition Ltd. Raisio Nutrition Ltd. had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The study procedure. Each period lasted for 7 weeks.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relative changes (mean ± SE) caused by the plant stanol ester diet compared with the control diet in serum cholesterol concentrations and variables of cholesterol absorption in the study population divided into normal-weight (BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2) and overweight/obese (BMI > 25 kg/m2) subjects. * p < 0.05 between the plant stanol ester vs. the control diet, └*┘ p < 0.05 between the BMI groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Causes of Death Collaborators Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality for 282 causes of death in 195 countries and territories, 1980–2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2018;392:1736–1788. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32203-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Khan M.A., Hashim M.J., Mustafa H., Baniyas M.Y., Al Suwaidi S.K.B.M., AlKatheeri R., Alblooshi F.M.K., Almatrooshi M.E.A.H., Alzaabi M.E.H., Al Darmaki R.S., et al. Global epidemiology of ischemic heart disease: Results from the Global Burden of Disease Study. Cureus. 2020;12:e9349. doi: 10.7759/cureus.9349. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ference B.A., Ginsberg H.N., Graham I., Ray K.K., Packard C.J., Bruckert E., Hegele R.A., Krauss R.M., Raal F.J., Schunkert H., et al. Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 1. Evidence from genetic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies. A consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel. Eur. Heart J. 2017;38:2459–2472. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehx144. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Borén J., Chapman M.J., Krauss R.M., Packard C.J., Bentzon J.F., Binder C.J., Daemen M.J., Demer L.L., Hegele R.A., Nicholls S.J., et al. Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: Pathophysiological, genetic, and therapeutic insights: A consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel. Eur. Heart J. 2020;41:2313–2330. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehz962. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fernández-Friera L., Fuster V., López-Melgar B., Oliva B., Garcia-Ruiz J.M., Mendigueren J., Bueno H., Pocock S., Ibáñez B., Fernández-Ortiz A., et al. Normal LDL-cholesterol levels are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in the absence of risk factors. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2017;70:2979–2991. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2017.10.024. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources