Premium
Vitamin C status is inversely related to body mass and fat mass in lean, physically fit adults
Author(s) -
Stern Jennifer H,
Johnston Carol S,
Huck Corey J,
Swan Pamela D
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a104-b
Subject(s) - overweight , lean body mass , body mass index , anthropometry , medicine , endocrinology , fat mass , classification of obesity , obesity , vitamin , zoology , chemistry , body weight , biology
Previous research from our laboratories showed that plasma vitamin C (VC) concentrations were inversely related to markers of adiposity in sedentary, overweight men and women. In this study we examined this relationship in lean, physically fit adults. Forty‐five non‐smoking, apparently healthy men (n=17) and women (n=28) between the ages of 18 to 45 years (mean±SD; 32±7), who were unaware of the purpose of the study, were instructed to arrive in a fasted state for subsequent anthropometric measurements and VO2 max testing (Bruce Protocol). Blood was drawn before exercise and analyzed for VC using the 2,4‐dinitrophenylhydrazine method. Mean VO2 max (48.9±6.3 and 40.7±6.5 ml/kg/min) and plasma VC (0.68±0.23 and 0.86±0.17 mg/dL) differed significantly for men and women respectively (p<0.05). Mean body mass (78.4±10.1 and 62.9±11.3 kg), body fat percentage (17.4±6.0 and 22.8+/−7.2%), and body mass index (24.5±2.1 and 22.0±3.2 kg/m2) also differed significantly for men and women (p<0.05). Controlling for gender, body mass was highly correlated to fat mass (r=0.775, p<0.001), and plasma vitamin C concentrations were inversely related to body mass (r=−0.312, p=0.039) and to fat mass (r=−0.255, p=0.094). These preliminary data suggest that vitamin C status may influence adiposity even in lean, physically fit adults.