Home
- Eating Well (or at Least Not terribly) at Fast Food Resturants
You can view the current or previous issues of Diabetes Health online, in their entirety, anytime you want.
Click Here To View
See if you qualify for our free healthcare professional magazines. Click here to start your application for Pre-Diabetes Health, Diabetes Health Pharmacist and Diabetes Health Professional.
Latest Heart Care & Heart Disease Articles
Popular Heart Care & Heart Disease Articles
Highly Recommended Heart Care & Heart Disease Articles
Researchers Find a New Marker of Deep Belly Fat
Central adiposity, visceral fat, intra-abdominal fat, or a big belly, they all mean the same thing: increased risk of insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Recently, a study of the abdominal fat of 196 people demonstrated that such visceral fat produces something called retinol (vitamin A)-binding protein 4 (RBP4), a carrier protein that transports vitamin A around your body. There was sixty times more RBP4 gene activity in the belly fat of obese people than in the belly fat of lean people, and twice as much in people with impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes as in people with normal blood glucose.
The amount of RBP4 in the blood accurately reflected the amount of fat around the central organs. In obese people, the blood level of RBP4 was double or triple that of normal-weight people. RBP4 in the blood also correlated inversely with insulin sensitivity and inversely with gene activity of GLUT4, an important insulin-regulated glucose transporter.
The study authors noted that because of its close correlation with central fat levels, RBP4 could perhaps be used as a marker to predict risk of disease. Previous research has indicated that blood RBP4 can be reduced by exercise and that RBP4 levels drop in association with improved insulin sensitivity.
In another study, teens who ate low carb diets and exercised also lowered their RBP4 levels. In mouse experiments, RBP4 has been found to decrease the insulin sensitivity of muscle and liver tissue.
Sources: Cell Metabolism, July 2007
MedlinePlus
Categories: Blood Glucose, Diabetes, Diabetes, Exercise, Heart Care & Heart Disease, Insulin, Losing weight, Type 2 Issues
You May Also Be Interested In...
Click Here To View Or Post Comments
Aug 7, 2007
-
Diabetes Health
Diabetes Health is the essential resource for people living with diabetes- both newly diagnosed and experienced as well as the professionals who care for them. We provide balanced expert news and information on living healthfully with diabetes. Each issue includes cutting-edge editorial coverage of new products, research, treatment options, and meaningful lifestyle issues.
-
Topics
- Diabetic / Diabetes Health
- Type 1 / 1.5 Diabetes
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Blood Glucose / Sugar
- High/Low Blood Sugar / Fast Acting Glucose
- Insulin- Pumps, Pens & Syringes
- Continuous Glucose Monitors, CGM, Infusion Sets
- Type 2 Medications
- Hyperglycemia
- Hypoglycemia
Email to a Friend
Send a link to this page to your friends and colleagues.