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. 2023 Jul;31(7):1745-1754.
doi: 10.1002/oby.23773.

The effect of weight loss on whole-body and tissue-specific insulin sensitivity and hepatic lipid content and composition: SWEET substudy

Michelle D Pang  1 , Jacco J A J Bastings  1 , Yvonne M H Op den Kamp-Bruls  2   3 , Joanne A Harrold  4 , Louise Kjølbaek  5 , Jason C G Halford  4   6 , Tanja C M Adam  3 , Anne Raben  5   7 , Vera B Schrauwen-Hinderling  2   3   8 , Gijs H Goossens  1 , Ellen E Blaak  1
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The effect of weight loss on whole-body and tissue-specific insulin sensitivity and hepatic lipid content and composition: SWEET substudy

Michelle D Pang et al. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: This study (1) investigated the effect of weight loss on whole-body and tissue-specific insulin sensitivity and on intrahepatic lipid (IHL) content and composition and (2) investigated the association between weight-loss-induced changes in insulin sensitivity and IHL content in individuals with overweight or obesity.

Methods: In this secondary analysis of the European SWEET project, 50 adults (age 18-65 years) with overweight or obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 ) followed a low-energy diet (LED) for 2 months. At baseline and after the LED, body composition (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), IHL content and composition (proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy), whole-body insulin sensitivity (Matsuda index), muscle insulin sensitivity index (MISI), and hepatic insulin resistance index (HIRI) were determined (7-point oral glucose tolerance test).

Results: The LED reduced body weight (p < 0.001). This was accompanied by increased Matsuda index and reduced HIRI (both p < 0.001) but no change in MISI (p = 0.260). Weight loss decreased IHL content (mean [SEM], 3.9% [0.7%] vs. 1.6% [0.5%], p < 0.001) and the hepatic saturated fatty acid fraction (41.0% [1.5%] vs. 36.6% [1.9%], p = 0.039). The reduced IHL content was associated with an improvement in HIRI (r = 0.402, p = 0.025).

Conclusions: Weight loss decreased IHL content and the hepatic saturated fatty acid fraction. The decrease in IHL content was associated with weight-loss-induced improvement in hepatic insulin sensitivity in individuals with overweight or obesity.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04226911.

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References

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