Zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin C status are associated with leptin concentrations and obesity in Mexican women: results from a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of obesity among Mexican women is high and it could be related to micronutrient status. We evaluated in a cross-sectional study the associations of zinc and vitamins A, C and E concentrations with BMI, central adiposity, body fat and leptin concentration.MethodsWomen aged 37 ± 7.5 years (n = 580) from 6 rural communities in Mexico were evaluated. Anthropometric measurements included weight, height, waist and hip circumference. A fasting blood sample was taken for the analysis of glucose, lipid profile, leptin, zinc, and vitamins A, C and E. Body composition was determined by DEXA (Hologic Mod Explorer).ResultsThe prevalence of overweight and obesity was 36% (BMI > 25 Kg/m2) and 44% (BMI > 30 Kg/m2), respectively. Prevalence of zinc and vitamins C and E deficiencies were similar in obese, overweight and normal weight women. No vitamin A deficiency was found. Vitamin C was negatively associated with BMI, waist-to-height ratio, and leptin concentrations (p < 0.05). Vitamin A was positively associated with leptin (p < 0.05). When stratifying by BMI, % body fat and waist circumference, high leptin concentrations were associated with lower zinc and lower vitamin C concentrations in women with obesity (p < 0.05) and higher vitamin A concentrations in women without obesity (p < 0.01). Vitamin E status was not associated with any markers of obesity.ConclusionZinc and vitamins A and C are associated with obesity, adiposity and leptin concentration in women from rural Mexico, and may play an important role in fat deposition. The causality of these associations needs to be confirmed.

Nutrient patterns and their relation to general and abdominal obesity in Iranian adults: findings from the SEPAHAN study

“…Previous studies on nutrient patterns have reported similar associations with different types of cancer [4-6, 9, 10, 26, 32] and osteoporosis [11]. Nutrients included in nutrient pattern analyses in previous studies varied between 19 and 30 nutrients and differed amongst studies based on the outcome variable(s) of interest. We attempted to include a maximum number of obesity-related nutrients and bioactive compounds (38 in total) in our analysis.…”

“…Obesity is one of the leading preventable risks for global deaths, and considered as an important risk factor for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers [12]. A direct association between certain nutrients, particularly dietary fat [15] and carbohydrates [16], and the risk of obesity has been reported, while consumption of dietary proteins [17] and fiber [18], or individual micronutrients, including vitamins A, B, C [19,20] and D [21], and minerals, such as calcium [22], has been inversely related to obesity. In contrast, we are unaware of any studies examining associations between patterns of nutrient intake with obesity.…”

Association Between Antioxidant Intake/Status and Obesity: a Systematic Review of Observational Studies

“…The majority of studies were conducted in the USA [17,23,[27][28][29] but also in Australia [4], Brazil [15,16,30], Chili [19], Finland [31], France [32,33], India [6], Israel [24], Italy [1], Japan [2], Mexico [34], New Zealand [14], Norway [8,26], Spain [10], Sweden [7,35], Swiss [13], Thailand [25], Taiwan [21,22], Turkey [18,20], and UK [5]. Twenty-three studies measured BMI as primary outcome but additional outcomes included weight z score, weight-for-length/height z score (WHZ) (children) [13,14,16,19], abdominal sagittal diameter [35], and percentage body fat [6,7,34]. Eleven studies were deemed of good quality and 20 studies were considered as having fair quality.…”

Relação entre consumo alimentar de vitaminas e minerais, índice de massa corporal e circunferência da cintura: um estudo de base populacional com adultos no Sul do Brasil

“…No México, Garcia et al 39 identificaram, após análise de dados transversais, que mulheres com obesidade abdominal apresentavam consumo de vitamina A mais inadequado quando comparadas com mulheres sem obesidade. Nos Estados Unidos, Maki et al 9 , analisando dados longitudinais, encontraram associação inversa entre o consumo insuficiente de vitamina D e valores elevados da CC em adultos.…”