Trunk fat and insulin resistance are positively correlated with carbohydrate intake and glycemic index in subjects classified with the metabolic syndrome

We evaluated markers of inflammation, adiponectin, body composition and diet in 88 women (25–72 y) classified with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Values for waist circumference (108.2 ± 11.2 cm) and plasma triglycerides (200.4 ± 53.3 mg/dL) were elevated. While plasma glucose levels varied from 66–179 mg/dL, 42% of women had insulin resistance. Plasma levels of Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) (0.99–15.7 mg/L), tumor necrosis factor alpha (1.47–12.3 mg/L) and high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (0.06–3.08 mg/dL) varied widely with most women being above values considered normal.. Subjects reported energy consumption from 488 to 6276 kcal/d with the expected under‐reporting in obese subjects. Subjects had a high intake of both trans fatty acids (4.9 g/d) and sugar (92.3 ± 56.4 g/d) while dietary fiber (17.0 ± 9.0 g/d) was below the recommendations. Glycemic load was also high (127.2 ± 56.1). Plasma insulin was highly correlated with trunk fat (r = 0.848, P < 0.00001) while trunk fat was positively correlated with energy intake (r = 0.637, P < 0.0001), total CHO (r = 0.643, P < 0.0001) and total sugar (r = 0.573, P < 0.0001). Although adiponectin values were normal, 16.4 ± 8.2 mg/L, adiponectin was negatively correlated with added sugar (r = −0.318, P < 0.01) and glycemic index (r = −0.342, P < 0.05). These results suggest that high carbohydrate, high glycemic foods are strongly correlated with trunk fat and insulin resistance in subjects with MetS. [Supported by MetaProteomics, LLC, Gig Harbor, WA]