Dietary Fat Intake Predicts 1-Year Change in Body Fat in Adolescent Girls With Type 1 Diabetes
- Stefan Särnblad, MD, PHD12,
- Ulf Ekelund, PHD34 and
- Jan Åman, MD, PHD12
- 1Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden
- 2Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- 3Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge, U.K.
- 4Department of Physical Education and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Stefan Särnblad, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital, S-701 85 Örebro, Sweden. E-mail: stefan.sarnblad{at}webaid.nu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE—The purpose of this study was to determine whether objectively measured physical activity and dietary macronutrient intake differentially predict body fat in adolescent girls with type 1 diabetes and control girls.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—This study comprised 23 girls (12–19 years) with type 1 diabetes and 19 age-matched healthy control girls. At baseline, physical activity and energy intake were assessed for 7 consecutive days by accelerometry and a structured food diary, respectively. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at baseline and after 1 year.
RESULTS—Fat intake was positively related to a 1-year change in percentage body fat (P = 0.006), after adjustment for total energy intake. No significant interaction was observed (case-control group × main exposure), indicating that the association between fat intake and gain in body fat was similar in both groups. Physical activity did not predict gain in body fat; however, total physical activity was positively associated with a gain in lean body mass (P < 0.01). Girls treated with six daily dosages of insulin increased their percentage of body fat significantly more than those treated with four daily injections (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS—In this prospective case-control study, we found that fat intake predicted gain in percentage of body fat in both adolescent girls with type 1 diabetes and healthy control girls. The number of daily insulin injections seems to influence the accumulation of body fat in girls with type 1 diabetes.
Footnotes
-
A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances.
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
-
- Accepted March 2, 2006.
- Received November 29, 2005.
- DIABETES CARE
