In the News
Study: Omega-3 Linked to Lower Body Weight
By Stephen Daniells, 21-Jul-2009
Related topics: Omega-3, Research, Nutritional lipids and oils, Cardiovascular health, Weight management
Increased blood levels of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA is linked to lower incidence of obesity, suggesting a role for fish oils in weight management.
New findings reported in the British Journal of Nutrition indicate that overweight and obese people have blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids almost 1 per cent lower than people with a healthy weight.
“Our findings suggest that n-3 PUFA may play an important role in weight status and abdominal adiposity,” wrote the researchers, led by Professor Monohar Garg from the University of Newcastle, and president elect of the Nutrition Society of Australia.
Previous studies have implicated omega-3 in protective benefits against obesity, and the new study adds to this small but growing body of evidence. A considerable number of studies already support the benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5 n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6 n-3) for cardiovascular health, and cognitive health. Other areas of potential for the fatty acids include mood and behaviour, eye health, cancer risk reduction, and improved infant development.
“Previous studies involving children and adolescents have shown a negative correlation between adiposity and plasma omega-3 PUFA and DHA concentrations, but there appears to be a paucity of research in adults,” explained the researchers.
Study details
The researchers recruited 124 people of varying weights: 21 were classified as having a healthy weight, according to their body mass index (BMI); 40 were classed as overweight; and 63 were obese. The researchers note that people who consumed omega-3 supplements were excluded from their study.
Blood samples were taken after the subjects fasted for at least ten hours. Prof Garg and his co-workers recorded an inverse relationship between total omeg-3 blood levels, as well as blood levels of DHA and EPA, with BMI, the subject’s waist size, and their hip circumference.
Indeed, obese people had omega-3 levels of 4.53 per cent, compared to 5.25 per cent in their healthy-weight peers. When the researchers classed the people according to their omega-3 levels, and not by their weight, they again observed that increased omega-3 levels were associated with a healthier BMI, a smaller waist, and a lower hip size.
“[Other] studies, along with our observations, suggest that omega-3 PUFA supplementation may play an important role in preventing weight gain and improving weight loss when omega-3 PUFA are supplemented concomitantly with a structured weight-loss programme,” wrote the researchers.
Biologically plausible
Commenting on the potential mechanism, the Australia-based researchers noted that is was “biologically plausible” that omega-3 fatty acids may aid weight management. Results from animal studies, for example, suggested that omega-3s may increase the production of heat by burning energy (thermogenesis).
Another study suggested a role of omega-3s in boosting the feeling of fullness after a meal (postprandial satiety) during weight loss in both overweight and obese individuals. Such observations are linked to changes in levels of hunger hormones like ghrelin and leptin which impact on appetite, said the researchers.
“Thus, the idea that fish oil can regulate weight status via improved appetite control along with a subsequent reduction in energy intake is plausible and worthy of further investigation,” wrote Prof Garg and his co-workers.
Further study
It is not clear from the results of this study if the link is causal or mere correlation. “[The studies conducted to date] make the basis for conducting more intervention trials in adults examining the influence of dietary supplementation with omega-3 PUFA-rich fats/oils in assisting weight loss and weight maintenance,” they concluded.
Source: British Journal of Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1017/S0007114509382173
“Plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are negatively associated with obesity”
Authors: M. Micallef, I. Munro, M. Phang, M. Garg
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Study: Obese People Have 'Severe Brain Degeneration'
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals, researchers said today.
Those classified as overweight have 4 percent less brain tissue and their brains appear to have aged prematurely by 8 years.
The results, based on brain scans of 94 people in their 70s, represent "severe brain degeneration," said Paul Thompson, senior author of the study and a UCLA professor of neurology.
"That's a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer's and other diseases that attack the brain," said Thompson. "But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer's, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control."
The findings are detailed in the online edition of the journal Human Brain Mapping.
Obesity packs many negative health effects, including increased risk of heart disease, Type 2 
More than 300 million worldwide are now classified as obese, according to the World Health Organization. Another billion are overweight. The main cause, experts say: bad diet, including an increased reliance on highly processed foods.
"The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than the brains of those who were lean, and in overweight people looked 8 years older," Thompson said.
Obesity is measured by body mass index (BMI), defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. A BMI over 25 is defined as overweight, and a BMI of over 30 as obese.
The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Center for Research Resources, and the American Heart Association.
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