No association of BMI and body adiposity with cardiometabolic biomarkers among a small sample of reindeer herders of sub-Arctic Finland

Abstract

The rising global obesity rate is alarming due to its real health and socioeconomic consequences. Finland, like other circumpolar regions, is also experiencing a rise in obesity . Here we assess BMI, body adiposity, and measures of cardiometabolic health among a small population of reindeer herders in sub-Arctic Finland. We collected anthropometric and biomarker measures at two different time points: October 2018 (N = 20) and January 2019 (N = 21) with a total of 25 unique individuals across the data collection periods (ages 20–64). Anthropometric measures included height, weight, age, and body composition. Biomarkers included measures of cholesterol, fasting glucose, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Over 70% of this sample was classified as “overweight” and “obese” as categorised by BMI and 64% classified as “overfat” based on body fat percentage. However, there was no significant relationship between BMI and body fat percentage with any of the measured biomarkers. Although the sample size is small, the results of this study suggest there might not be a strong correlation between BMI, body adiposity, and cardiometabolic health indices within this population – a pattern that has been documented elsewhere. However, further study is needed to confirm this lack of a correlation.

Metabolic demands and sexual dimorphism in human nasal morphology: A test of the respiratory‐energetics hypothesis

“…Rather, across populations from climatically disparate environments, metabolic drivers of nasal morphology are also almost certainly impacted by climatic pressures. For example, previous studies have shown that humans from colder environments generally exhibit higher body masses (Froehle et al, 2013; Ocobock, et al, 2022; Ruff, 1991, 1994; Snodgrass et al, 2005) and brain volumes (Beals et al, 1983, 1984) than humans from hotter environments—findings consistent with Bergmann's Rule (Bergmann, 1847) in which increased size facilitates the retention of internally‐produced heat (Ruff, 1993). Still, while these climatically induced increases in body and brain size may be thermally advantageous in cold environments, they are nonetheless metabolically expensive (Kramer & Ellison, 2010)—a burden which must be supported through increased oxygen intake.…”

Clinical characteristics and risk factors of organ failure and death in necrotizing pancreatitis

“…In addition, elderly NP patients are deficient in protective pancreatitis-associated proteins and have a higher production of pro-inflammatory factors in case of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis compared to younger patients [ 37 – 39 ]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 13% of the global adult population were considered “obese” (BMI ≥ 30) in 2016, and the growing global obesity rate is alarming due to numerous comorbidities such as hyperlipidemia or osteoarthritis, which are associated with increasing medical expenses [ 40 ]. Several previous studies reported that a high BMI was directly linked to increased risk of MOF, local complications and poor prognosis in AP [ 41 – 44 ].…”

Commentary—fat but fit…and cold? Potential evolutionary and environmental drivers of metabolically healthy obesity

“…Similar results were found among over 47 200 Finnish women and men [ 3 ] and ∼40 000 women part of the Women’s Health Study [ 35 ]—regular physical activity was strongly associated with reduced all-cause mortality or coronary heart disease in these studies, respectively. Similarly, work among reindeer herders in sub-Arctic Finland found that despite 75% of the participants being overweight or having obesity, their metabolic health markers (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, glucose and triglycerides) were relatively normal [ 36 ].…”

“…Numerous well-known cold climate adaptations that appear among circumpolar populations include a larger body size with a reduced body surface area [ 6 , 39 , 40 ], high resting metabolic rates [ 38 , 41 , 42 ], shivering thermogenesis and brown adipose tissue activity [ 36 , 43 , 44 ], oscillating vasoconstriction and vasodilation [ 45 ], as well as numerous cultural mitigation strategies [ 46 ]. Less well studied, however, is if cold climate adaptations may affect the relationship of body size and adiposity to biomarkers of cardiometabolic health.…”

“…Brown adipose tissue (BAT), a type of mitochondria dense fat, has received a great deal of recent attention both for its ability to increase heat production during cold exposure and for how it may alter metabolic rate and circulating blood glucose and fatty acid levels [ 43 , 44 , 76 , 77 ]. BAT has been identified among cold [ 36 , 42 ] and temperate climate populations [ 72 , 73 ] during acute cold exposure, and has been shown to increase metabolic rate from 3 to 9.5% depending on the population. For example, reindeer herders in sub-Arctic Finland trended on the higher end of that metabolic rate increase (8.7%) and preferentially metabolized fatty acids rather than glucose [ 80 ].…”