OBJECTIVE -The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between visceral adiposity or triglyceride (TG) metabolism and insulin resistance in metabolically obese, normal weight (MONW) Japanese individuals with normal glucose tolerance.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -We evaluated body fat areas, lipid profiles, and the glucose infusion rate (GIR) during a euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp study in 20 MONW subjects (BMI Ͻ25 kg/m 2 and visceral fat areas 100 cm 2 ) with normal glucose tolerance. Body fat areas were measured by computed tomography scans. Control data were obtained from 20 normal subjects (BMI Ͻ25 kg/m 2 and visceral fat areas Ͻ100 cm 2 ).RESULTS -MONW subjects showed a significant increase in fasting serum levels of TG (P Ͻ 0.01) and a decrease in GIR (P Ͻ 0.01) compared with normal subjects. There were significant correlations between visceral fat areas (r ϭ Ϫ0.563, P Ͻ 0.01) or serum levels of TG (r ϭ Ϫ0.474, P Ͻ 0.05) and GIR in MONW subjects. Multiple regression analyses showed that visceral fat areas (F ϭ 7.702, P Ͻ 0.02) and serum levels of TG (F ϭ 7.114, P Ͻ 0.05) were significantly associated with GIR in all (MONW and normal) subjects.CONCLUSIONS -Increased visceral fat and serum levels of TG are associated with insulin resistance in Japanese MONW subjects with normal glucose tolerance. Excess visceral fat and elevated TG levels may play important roles in the development of insulin resistance in Japanese MONW subjects with normal glucose tolerance.
Diabetes Care 26:2341-2344, 2003R ecent reports described the existence of individuals with normal body weight but with a cluster of obesity-related characteristics (1,2). They are characterized by excess visceral fat, insulin resistance, and hyperinsulinemia and have been called metabolically obese, normal weight (MONW) subjects. Ethnic differences should be considered for identifying MONW subjects. In the Japanese population, nonobese (BMI Ͻ25 kg/ m 2 ) subjects with increased visceral fat areas (100 cm 2 ) fulfill the criteria for categorizing them in the MONW group (2-6). Regarding the association of the MONW state with diabetes, higher prevalence of hyperglycemia has been observed in MONW subjects than in normal individuals (3,4).Previous studies have demonstrated that visceral fat areas are associated with insulin resistance in Japanese subjects with normal glucose tolerance and impaired glucose tolerance and in nonobese Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes (7-9). Visceral fat accumulation is also associated with serum triglyceride (TG) levels, and the disturbance of TG metabolism precedes the development of insulin resistance in nonobese Japanese type 2 diabetic patients (9,10). However, the relationships of visceral adiposity and TG metabolism with insulin resistance in Japanese MONW subjects with normal glucose tolerance have not been evaluated. To clarify these points, in the present study, we investigated the relationship between visceral fat areas or serum levels of TG and insulin resistance in Japanese MONW subjects wit...