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A low-dose technique was compared with a standard diagnostic technique for measuring areas of adipose and muscle tissue and CT numbers for muscles in a body composition application. The low-dose technique was intended to keep the expected deviation in the measured area of adipose and muscle tissue to <1% of the total tissue area. The largest diameter of the patient determined the parameters for the low-dose technique. 17 patients — chosen to cover a wide range of diameters (31-47 cm) for both abdomen and thighs — were examined using both techniques. Tissue areas were compared, as were CT numbers for muscle tissue. Image noise was quantified by standard deviation measurements. The area deviation was <1%, except in the smallest subjects, in whom it was <2%. The integral radiation dose of the low-dose technique was reduced to 2-3% for diameters of 31-35 cm and to 7.5-50% for diameters of 36-47 cm as compared with the integral dose by the standard diagnostic technique. The CT numbers of muscle tissue remained unchanged with reduced radiation dose. Image noise was on average 20.9 HU (Hounsfield units) for subjects with diameters of 31-35 cm and 11.2 HU for subjects with diameters in the range of 36-47 cm. In conclusion, for body composition studies with CT, scan protocols can be adjusted so that the integral dose is lowered to 2-60% of the standard diagnostic technique at our centre without adversely altering area measurements of adipose and muscle tissue and without altering CT numbers of muscle tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiopulmonary diseases are major causes of death worldwide, but currently recommended strategies for diagnosis and prevention may be outdated because of recent changes in risk factor patterns. The Swedish CArdioPulmonarybioImage Study (SCAPIS) combines the use of new imaging technologies, advances in large-scale 'omics' and epidemiological analyses to extensively characterize a Swedish cohort of 30 000 men and women aged between 50 and 64 years. The information obtained will be used to improve risk prediction of cardiopulmonary diseases and optimize the ability to study disease mechanisms. A comprehensive pilot study in 1111 individuals, which was completed in 2012, demonstrated the feasibility and financial and ethical consequences of SCAPIS. Recruitment to the national, multicentre study has recently started. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The long-term results of Roux-en- $\hbox{Y}$ gastric bypass (gastric bypass) and vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) from randomized studies have not been described in detail. Methods: Patients were randomized to gastric bypass or VBG. Body mass index (BMI), body composition, eating habits and gastrointestinal hormones were reviewed after 6 years. The frequency of reoperation was assessed up to 10 years after surgery. Results: Sixty-six (80 per cent) of the 82 subjects randomized were assessed for weight and BMI 6 years after surgery, 30 (81 per cent) in the gastric bypass group and 36 (80 per cent) in the VBG group. Intention-to-treat analysis demonstrated greater weight loss after gastric bypass compared with VBG, 6 years after surgery: BMI reduced from 41·8 (95 per cent confidence interval 41·3 to 42·3) to 30·3 (28·6 to 32·0) kg/m2 for gastric bypass and from 42·3 (42·8 to 44·8) to 32·9 (31·3 to 34·5) kg/m2 for VBG ( P = 0·036). Gastric bypass caused a larger loss of fat mass ( P = 0·026) and better preservation of lean tissue ( P = 0·009). Patients having a gastric bypass had greater postprandial responses to the satiety hormones glucagon-like peptide 1 and peptide YY ( P = 0·003 and P = 0·004 respectively). Ghrelin levels did not differ between the groups. Patients with a gastric bypass maintained a lower intake of fat compared with those having VBG ( P = 0·013). Some 89 per cent of patients who initially had VBG had undergone, or were scheduled for, conversion to gastric bypass at latest follow-up. Conclusion: Gastric bypass was superior to VBG regarding weight loss, body composition, dietary composition and postprandial satiety hormone responses. Copyright © 2012 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The amount of visceral adipose tissue is a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome. It is unclear how BMI changes during childhood and adolescence predict adult fat distribution. We hypothesized that there are critical periods during development for the prediction of adult subcutaneous and visceral fat mass by BMI changes during childhood and adolescence.Research Design and Methods: Detailed growth charts were retrieved for the men participating in the population-based Gothenburg Osteoporosis and Obesity Determinants (GOOD) Study (n = 612). Body composition was analyzed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and adipose tissue areas using abdominal computed tomography at 18 to 20 years of age.Results: The main finding in the present study was that subjects with increases in BMI Z score of more than 1 SD during adolescence had, independent of prepubertal BMI, both larger subcutaneous (+138%; P < 0.001) and visceral adipose tissue areas (+91%; P < 0.001) than subjects with unchanged BMI Z-score. In contrast, subjects with increases in BMI Z score of more than 1 SD during late childhood had a larger amount of adult subcutaneous adipose tissue (+83%; P < 0.001) than subjects with unchanged BMI Z score but an unaffected amount of visceral adipose tissue. BMI changes during adolescence predict both visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue of the abdomen, whereas BMI changes during late childhood predict only the subcutaneous adipose tissue.Conclusions: The amount of visceral adipose tissue in young adult men was associated with BMI changes specifically during adolescence, whereas the amount of subcutaneous adipose tissue was associated with BMI changes during both late childhood and adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of puberty and normal variations in pubertal timing for the development of obesity in men is unclear. The aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of pubertal timing and prepubertal BMI (kg/m(2)) for young adult BMI and fat mass distribution. Detailed growth charts from birth to age 18-20 years were retrieved for the men participating in the population-based Gothenburg Osteoporosis and Obesity Determinants study. Age at peak height velocity (PHV) and BMI at age 10 years were estimated for 579 subjects, and PHV was used as an assessment of pubertal timing. The fat mass characterization and distribution were analyzed using dual X-ray absorptiometry and peripheral as well as abdominal computed tomography at age 18.9 +/- 0.5 years. We demonstrate that age at PHV is an independent negative predictor of young adult BMI and whole-body fat mass. Interestingly, age at PHV is an independent negative predictor of central, but not peripheral, fat mass. In contrast, BMI at 10 years of age predicts both central and peripheral subcutaneous fat mass. In conclusion, we demonstrate that early pubertal onset specifically predicts a central fat mass distribution, while a predominantly subcutaneous obese phenotype is strongly predicted by a high prepubertal BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]