Fat on chest and upper back increases risk of insulin ...( Upper trunk fat deposits of fat on ...),Health

Upper trunk fat deposits of fat on the chest and back is associated with an increased risk of insulin resistance, a condition that is a precursor of type 2 diabetes, according to a study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

It is the first time such an association has been demonstrated, say the researchers.

The association was equally strong in both HIV infected subjects and HIV negative control subjects in the Study of Fat Redistribution and Metabolic Change in HIV Infection (FRAM), a national long-term longitudinal study of HIV infected people taking modern antiretroviral therapy and HIV negative controls.

The presence of visceral fat, which is located between and around the internal organs, was also associated with an increased risk of insulin resistance in both populations. The researchers found that each type of fat contributes independently to insulin resistance whether or not the other type is present.

The study appears in online Publish Ahead of Print section (http://www.jaids.com/pt/re/jaids/paptoc.htm) of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

We knew about the insulin resistance risk associated with visceral fat, which has been shown in previous studies, but no one had ever looked at the contribution of upper trunk fat, says lead author and FRAM principal investigator Carl Grunfeld, MD, PhD, chief of the metabolism and endocrine sections at SFVAMC. Strikingly, there was very little difference between HIV infected people and controls. If you have fat up top, its bad for you.

In insulin resistance, cells in the body become increasingly resistant to the action of insulin, a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels. The result is chronically high blood glucose, which has many adverse health effects.

The researchers measured visceral and subcutaneous fat deposits in the legs, arms, u
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