| Study summary: |
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SPECIFIC AIMS The first specific aim is to examine mechanisms for the pathogenesis of severe
obesity.
Obesity is a heterogeneous and complex metabolic disorder. The pathogenesis of obesity
remains obscure and it is unclear why some individuals are prone to severe obesity. It is
also unclear why there are ethnic and racial differences for severe obesity. Many scientists
postulate that metabolic vulnerabilities for obesity can be identified in the severely
obese. The 1st specific aim examines the pathogenesis of severe obesity with three research
protocols applied within the same cohort of research participants.
1. energy expenditure. Some prior studies indicate lower rates of resting energy
expenditure (REE) in African-Americans, posing a metabolic risk for weight gain and
resistance to weight loss. Other recent work highlights an important role for
non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) in the pathogenesis of obesity. There are
limited data addressing energy expenditure in severe obesity. In 120 severely obese
adults (50% Class II and 50% Class III; with 50% African American participation),
energy expenditure will be studied at baseline and after 6 months of intervention. The
doubly-labeled water method will be used to measure total daily energy expenditure
(TEE). Indirect calorimetry will be used to measure resting metabolic rate (RMR).
Physical activity will be measured using light-weight, wearable monitors. NEAT will be
calculated using these measurements. Comparisons will be between the groups with Class
II and III obesity with further analysis for effects of ethnicity. These findings will
be compared to data obtained in lean control subjects. The effect of intervention will
be examined. This cohort will have a 1 year intensive behavioral weight loss
intervention. Half of the volunteers will be randomized to a combined diet and exercise
intervention (DE) , and the others will be randomized to diet intervention only for the
initial 6 months, adding the exercise component at 6 months (DE-DELAY).
2. impaired capacity for fat oxidation. In these participants, a drop of blood will be
obtained at baseline and 6 months, for a low-cost, high throughput, yet highly detailed
tandem mass spectroscopy profile of plasma levels of acylcarnitines. Elevated levels
will denote disorders of fatty acid oxidation and selective increase in specific
acylcarnitine species will denote particular enzymatic loci of impairment. This aim
derives from rapid recent progress in two parallel field of metabolic investigation.
One of these is the field of "inborn errors of metabolism", a field generally applied
to newborns and children. In this field there has been a rapid increase during the past
decade in recognizing and delineating in-born errors of fatty acid oxidation. Profiling
plasma levels of acylcarnitine species is a standard diagnostic approach. In obesity
research, a strong body of data have been developed during the same interval that one
of the key metabolic impairments is mitochondrial dysfunction and reduced capacity for
fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle. Racial differences in muscle oxidative
capacity have been reported, with lower values for oxidative capacity in AA women,
characteristics postulated to be a metabolic risk factor for obesity. We propose
inter-action of these two lines of investigation, exploring the utility of tandem mass
spectroscopy screening for plasma acylcarnitines as a non-invasive probe of metabolic
impairments in the severely obese.
3. leptin resistance. The third protocol to be used in this group of severely obese
concerns a novel concept for leptin resistance. A decade ago, the discovery of leptin
was pivotal in renewing scientific interest in obesity. Leptin modulates appetite and
energy expenditure, two processes fundamental to weight regulation. Yet, treatment of
obesity with leptin has failed to meet expectations. This has been attributed to
"leptin resistance". This protocol will examine the role of serum leptin interacting
proteins (SLIPs) that bind leptin as a factor contributing to leptin resistance. This
line of basic science research indicates that one of the SLIPs is C-reactive protein
(CRP) which suggests that low-grade inflammation, a metabolic complication of obesity
related to risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) may also contribute to the
pathogenesis of obesity. There are common themes in these three protocols that form
Specific Aim 1. Each addresses an aspect of the regulation of energy expenditure and
fat oxidation. Each has the potential to identify novel bio-markers. Each project
employs state-of-the-art analytical procedures, yet uses only minimally invasive sample
collections. Finally, each will be carried out in the full research cohort of Phase 1,
at baseline and during intervention, comparing metabolic effects of DE versus DE-DELAY.
Though physical activity may be more important for weight loss maintenance than
induction of weight loss, it has been found to increase capacity for fat oxidation more
than weight loss induced by diet. It is from this latter perspective that we are
interested in comparisons of DE and DE-DELAY at 6 months using these metabolic
parameters.
The 2nd specific aim is to develop an effective intervention for the severely obese.
Axiomatic in the contemporary approaches to treatment of obesity is that clinically
significant benefits are obtained with modest weight loss. This principle underlies the
consensus recommendations for a weight loss target of 5 to 10% for overweight and obese
individuals. The 2nd specific aim is to implement a behavioral dietary and physical activity
intervention and assess whether this achieves a target weight loss at 1 year of ≥ 7% in
Class II and Class III obese research participants. 120 adults, as described above, will
have a 1 year intervention. Intervention to increase physical activity in the severely obese
may be particularly challenging. Possibly this is easier after a period of weight loss. The
staging of diet and physical activity (DE versus DEDELAY) will examine this.
The 3rd specific aim is to assess the effect of intervention on adverse health risks.
The medical rational for weight loss and physical activity is to improve health and
ameliorate adverse effects of obesity. The 3rd specific aim is to assess the impact of
intervention in the Phase 1 cohort. A panel of standardized clinical measurements,
laboratory tests, and self-report instruments will be performed at baseline, 6 months and 1
year. We will examine: 1) traditional cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. hypertension,
dyslipidemia, glucose and insulin, along with other endocrine measurements); 2) markers of
inflammation, adipokines and cytokines; 3) body composition and regional distribution of
adipose tissue; 4) functional status (a timed 400 meter corridor walk); 5) sub-clinical
vascular disease (pulse wave velocity and carotid ultrasound); 7) health history and use of
medications; and 8) demographic indices, social and neighborhood factors, quality of life,
impact of obesity, and self-perception of body image and discrimination. One line of inquiry
concerns the role of baseline characteristics in accounting for heterogeneity between
individuals in adverse effects of severe obesity. The second line of inquiry is to assess
the impact of intervention to change these parameters. |