Differences of Regional Fat Distribution Measured by Magnetic Resonance Imaging According to Obese Phenotype in Koreans

Background: Obesity is commonly associated with a high risk of metabolic disorders, and obesity-related metabolic abnormalities are affected by some specific obesity phenotypes, regional fat distribution, and body mass index. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between obesity phenotypes and regional fat distribution in Korean subjects. This study aimed to assess regional fat distribution by gender using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to identify a link between fat distribution and metabolic disorders in Korean subjects. Methods: This study included 35 Korean subjects (20 women, 15 men) who were classified into two groups by gender, and further divided into two groups based on their obesity phenotype: a metabolically abnormal obesity (MAO) and metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) group. Fat distribution was measured using MRI. The blood parameters were measured using a commercially available kit. Results: Women in the MAO group had more risk factors for metabolic abnormalities than those in the MHO group. Serum glucose, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were also significantly higher in women with MAO than in those with MHO. The intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) of women with MAO was significantly higher than that of women with MHO. Serum HDL-C level was negatively correlated with IMAT, whereas leptin showed a positive correlation with IMAT in all subjects. Conclusions: Metabolic abnormalities according to obesity phenotype posed a higher risk in women than that in men. These findings suggest that an understanding of gender differences in relation to the association between obesity and metabolic risk would be helpful to reduce the prevalence of obesity.