Effects of Fat and Carbohydrates in Obese Men

Summary

Obesity has become a global epidemic, and treating and preventing obesity appears to be one of the world's greatest challenges. The disorder is associated with a wide range of metabolic and hormonal changes, including the development of insulin resistance, changes in adipose tissue function, increased levels of blood lipids, cardiovascular disease and obesity induced fatty liver. Obesity is characterized by inflammation in adipose tissue, altered fat storage capacity and increased exchange of lipids between adipose tissue and blood, and increased secretion of cytokines from adipose tissue. Cytokines are believed to play a central role in the regulation of adipose tissue, the size of adipocytes and other metabolic conditions.

The hepatic synthesis of lipoproteins and interaction with adipose tissue is essential for the body's energy storages. The central role of the liver in energy supply, fat storage and normalization of blood values implies the importance of investigating the interaction between adipose tissue and liver to increase knowledge about the morbidity of obesity. Central obesity and insulin resistance are clear risk factors for the development of fatty liver, but the importance of diet is unclear. The common perception is that fatty liver condition can be improved by a reduction in dietary fat and cholesterols, but the relationship is unclear, and contradictory findings occur in epidemiological studies. It is therefore necessary to better understand the impact of the different macro-nutrients.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether two weight reducing diets with equal calorie levels that contain high or low fat differentially affects the adipose tissue function, distribution of body fat, as well as tissue, blood and urine levels of inflammatory markers, lipids, vitamins, hormones and other substances that may be related to metabolically health.

Conditions

• Obesity
• Steatosis

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

High fat low carbohydrate diet

70E% fat, 20E% protein, 10E% carbohydrates

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Low fat high carbohydrate diet

20E% fat, 20E% protein, 60E% carbohydrates

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Bergen

  collaborator OTHER

• Haukeland University Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Gunnar Mellgren, MD PhD · Haukeland University Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

30 Years

Max Age

50 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-12-31

Primary Completion

2014-01-31

Completion

2014-12-31

Countries

• Norway

Study Locations