Positive Health Online

Abstract

ANDERSEN and co-workers, Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Norway, have found an association between body mass index and the levels of carotenoids in young adults.

Background

Cross-sectional studies report an inverse association between body mass index (BMI) and serum carotenoid concentration. The aim of this study was to examine the prospective association between BMI and the serum concentration of five carotenoids in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.

Methodology

Serum carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin/lutein, lycopene), BMI, dietary intake, physical activity and dietary supplement use were measured at years 0 and 7 in 3071 black and white male and female participants.

Results

Among non-smokers, year 0 BMI predicted year 7 serum carotenoid levels: obese subjects (BMI > or =30 kg/m2) had an average concentration of the sum of four carotenoids (alpha-carotene +beta-carotene + zeaxanthin/lutein+beta-cryptoxanthin) that was 22% lower than the concentration among subjects with a BMI of less than 22 kg/m2. In contrast, the sum of carotenoids among smokers was only 6% lower. Relationships between BMI and serum lycopene were weak. The change from year 0 to year 7 in serum carotenoids, except for lycopene, was inversely associated with the change in BMI among non-smokers but not among smokers.

Conclusion

The observation that BMI predicted the levels of serum carotenoids during a 7-year period is consistent with the hypothesis that carotenoids are decreased because they act as protecting agents against the oxidative stress generated by adipose tissue.

References

Andersen LF, Jacobs DR Jr, Gross MD, Schreiner PJ, Dale Williams O, Lee DH. Longitudinal associations between body mass index and serum carotenoids: the CARDIA study. British Journal of Nutrition 95 (2): 358-365, Feb 2006.