Monday, April 30, 2012

Diets High In Saturated Fat Linked To Obesity

Diets high in saturated fat increase risk for obesity in those who are genetically predisposed:

High Dietary Saturated Fat Intake Accentuates Obesity Risk Associated With The Fat Mass And Obesity–Associated Gene In Adults, Journal of Nutrition, 28 March 2012
"High dietary SFA intake (≥15.5% energy) and a low dietary PUFA:SFA intake ratio (<0.38) further accentuated the risk of having a BMI ≥25 kg/m2 and being abdominally obese."
For these individuals (1,754 participants studied over 7.5 years), it turns out to be true that "the fat you eat is the fat you wear."

A saturated fat intake of 15.5% for a diet of 1800 calories/day is 279 calories or about 31 grams of saturated fat, 34 grams for 2000 calories/day, etc.

Here are saturated fat amounts in some common foods:
  • 1 tablespoon butter ... 7 grams
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil ... 4 grams
  • 1 ounce cheddar cheese ... 6 grams
  • Burger King hamburger ... 6 grams
  • 1/2 cup ice cream ... 4 grams
  • Half of a turkey leg (meat and skin) ... 8.5 grams
  • Krispy Kreme glazed raspberry filled donut ... 5 grams
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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Olive oil has saturated fat!?

PHilippa said...

This implies that low carb/high fat diets wouldn't work for people with the fat-mass and obesity associated gene.

Having only read the abstract, I'm curious to check out the full study. Mainly, I'd like to see how they controlled the study for carb and processed food intake.

Anonymous said...

Awwww mannnn...... what you have to go an put the krispy kreme there for.

bijin said...

No wonder we have an obesity problem. Check out this article which says it's carbs and not fat that makes us fat. LOL!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bethhoffman/2012/04/16/carbs-or-fat-the-battle-continues-infographic/

Bix said...

While looking up the LIPGENE-SU.VI.MAX population (from which this population was derived) I saw:

Gene-nutrient interactions in the metabolic syndrome: single nucleotide polymorphisms in ADIPOQ and ADIPOR1 interact with plasma saturated fatty acids to modulate insulin resistance, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March 2010

http://www.ajcn.org/content/91/3/794.full

...Which found that saturated fat in plasma increased insulin resistance (not unlike other studies I've posted) ... in those who were, again, genetically predisposed.

Conclusions: A reduction in plasma [saturated fatty acids] could be expected to lower insulin resistance in [Metabolic Syndrome] subjects who are minor allele carriers of rs266729 in ADIPOQ and rs10920533 in ADIPOR1. Personalized dietary advice to decrease [saturated fat] consumption in these individuals may be recommended as a possible therapeutic measure to improve insulin sensitivity.

I should say that the body can make saturated fat. So, the saturated fat found in blood is a mixture of the fat we eat and the fat our body makes. This study notes that the fat we eat is "easier to manipulate." It's an honest assertion. There are a number of hormones and pathways that control the manufacture and movement of saturated fat in the body. It's not as easy to control this endogenously synthesized fat as it is dietary fat. In the end, both fat sources contribute to insulin resistance.

Bix said...

Lol. I apologize for the donut. :0

Bix said...

I actually put it there because I think it's more the combination of processed carbs and fats that contribute to obesity. Just my 2 cents.

Bix said...

bijin, I just took a look at that infographic. I don't think it's that simple.

First ... Fat increases insulin resistance, so the carbs you do eat are more difficult to handle.

And there is no mention of all the other hormones, in addition to insulin, that control metabolism. Leptin, adiponectin, ghrelin, cortisol, thyroid hormones, the insulin-like growth factors (the IGFs), and on. These are as strong as insulin in their action. And these all interact too, and have positive/negative feedback loops. So many things affect metabolism, from diet to mood, exercise, sleep.

This infographic says that bacon doesn't make you fat but a bagel does. In my mind, neither food makes us fat, but both foods can contribute to us getting fat.

Bix said...

By the way ... thank you for that graphic, bijin. I like reading those things!