Low Antioxidant Levels Linked to Increased Body Fat

by | Jan 14, 2016 | 2014, Antioxidants, Obesity

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Children classified as “normal weight” have 353.5% higher levels of alpha-carotene than those classified as “obese”.

When the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was conducted in 1965, 4 percent of children aged 6-11 and 5 percent of children aged 12-19 were classified as obese. When the survey was conducted again in 2000, those numbers quadrupled for children aged 6-11 and tripled for children aged 12-19 (1). Obesity-associated hospital costs for children and youth has more than tripled in the last twenty years, rising from $35 million per year in 1979-1981 to $127 million in 1997-1999. The cost of obesity to our healthcare system in adults alone ranges from $98 billion to $129 billion each year (2).

Now a new study (3) suggests that body fat in children may be related to their antioxidants levels. In the study, researchers analyzed data on the blood levels of antioxidants and obesity measurements of 1,000 Mexican-American children aged 8 to 15 participating in the 2001-2004 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (4). They classified those with “normal weight”  below the 85th percentile of age- and gender-specific Body Mass Index (BMI) charts from the CDC developed in 2000 (587 children), “overweight” as being between the 85th and 95th percentile (198 children) , and “obese” as being above the 95th percentile (215 children) (5).

The researchers found several significant associations between antioxidant levels and body fat, specifically Body Mass Index. Those classified as “normal weight” having 8.7% higher levels of alpha-carotene than those classified as “overweight” (2.25 vs. 2.07 micrograms/deciliter, p < 0.001) and 35.5% higher levels than those classified as “obese” (2.25 vs. 1.66 micrograms/dL) (p < 0.005). For trans beta carotene, “normal weight” subjects had 17.4% higher blood levels than “overweight” subjects (12.1 vs. 10.3 micrograms/deciliter, p < 0.001) and 61.1% higher levels than “obese subjects (12.1 vs. 7.51 micrograms/dL) (p < 0.005). Finally, they looked at the ratio of vitamin E to total cholesterol levels and found “normal” subjects to have a 3% higher ratio than “overweight subjects” (4.50 vs. 4.37, p < 0.001) and a 7.6% higher ratio than “obese” subjects (4.5 vs. 4.18) (p < 0.005).

When suggesting a possible mechanism for why antioxidant blood levels may contribute to lower body fat levels, the researchers suggested that antioxidant levels can be an indicator of fruit and vegetable intake (6) and a lower intake of fruits and vegetables results in higher calorie intake (7).

For the researchers, “Significant inverse associations were found between serum concentrations of carotenoids and vitamin E and [Body Mass Index] among Mexican-American children” and that “confirmation that micronutrients may play a role in [body fat levels] would allow the development of new public health interventions that, by targeting children, may contribute to efforts to reduce their long-term risk of obesity and chronic diseases.” However no mechanism was shown by which high antioxidant levels could reduce body fat, and that the greater weight levels may well be the result of lower amounts of fruits and vegetables in the diet.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

Source: Gunanti, Inong R., et al. “Low serum concentrations of carotenoids and vitamin E are associated with high adiposity in Mexican-American children.” The Journal of nutrition 144.4 (2014): 489-495.

© 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

Posted April 14, 2014.

References:

  1. Center For Disease Control and Prevention’s Center for Health Statistics, “Prevalence of Overweight Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999-2002”
  2. “Focus on Childhood Obesity” posted on the Institute of Medicine website
  3. Gunanti IR.  Low Serum Concentrations of Carotenoids and Vitamin E Are Associated with High Adiposity in Mexican-American Children. J Nutr 2014 Apr;144(4):489-95. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.183137. Epub 2014 Feb 5
  4. NationalCenter for Health Statistics. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2008 survey content. Atlanta (GA): US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2009
  5. Barlow SE, Dietz WH. Obesity evaluation and treatment: Expert Committee recommendations. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services. Pediatrics. 1998;102:E29
  6. Coyne T, Ibiebele TI, McNaughton S, Rutishauser IH, O’Dea K, Hodge AM, McClintock C, Findlay MG, Lee A. Evaluation of brief dietary questions to estimate vegetable and fruit consumption—using serum carotenoids and red-cell folate. Public Health Nutr. 2005;8:298–308.
  7. Vernarelli JA, Mitchell DC, Hartman TJ, Rolls BJ. Dietary energy density is associated with body weight status and vegetable intake in U. S. children. J Nutr. 2011;141:2204–10.