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Session: Meal Timing and Diet Quality for Prevention of Obesity and/or Cardiometabolic Disease (Oral 14)

(OR14-07-23) Plasma Docosahexaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoyl Ethanolamide Are Associated With Changes in Body Weight and Composition in Healthy, Pre-menopausal Women

Monday, July 24, 2023

9:12 AM – 9:24 AM ET

Location: Constitution B

Presenting Author(s)

Amber B. Courville, PhD, RDN (she/her/hers)

Staff Scientist
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Co-Author(s)

RT

Reed Thomas

NIH, NIDDK
OJ

Olivia Jordan

NIH, NIDDK
SM

Sharon Majchrzak

NIH, NIAAA
RC

Roy Cutler

NIH, NIA
SY

Shanna Yang, MPH, RD, CDE

NIH Clinical Center
Bethesda, Maryland, United States
ST

Sara Turner

NIH Clinical Center
KC

Kong Chen

NIH, NIDDK
CR

Chris Ramsden

NIH, NIA

Disclosure(s):

Amber B. Courville, PhD, RDN: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Objectives: Dietary fat is thought to contribute to chronic positive energy balance resulting in obesity. However, associations between body composition and the type of dietary fat, specifically omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (FA) or their bioactive mediators, such as endocannabinoids (CB), during weight loss is less clear.

Methods: Healthy, pre-menopausal women (n=62, BMI 30±3 kg/m2, age 35±7y; mean ± SD) were fed diets for 12-weeks that differed in omega-3 and omega-6 FA: 1) high omega-6, low omega-3, 2) low omega-6, low omega-3; or 3) low omega-6, high omega-3). This secondary analysis examined individual changes in these women without stratifying data into diet groups. At baseline and 12-weeks, body composition was assessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry and fasting plasma was collected to analyze FA (wt%) and CB (ng/mL). Linear regression examined associations between body composition measures and FA or CB at baseline and the percent change over 12-weeks. Age, BMI and race were included as potential covariates.

Results: At baseline, VAT mass was associated with fasting plasma AA, EPA and 2-AG (p < 0.001). BF was not associated with FA or CB. During the 12-week diet intervention, women lost an average of 3.8 ± 2.9 kg (2.8 ± 2.4 kg BF and 1.0 ± 1.2 kg lean body mass) and 0.11 ± 0.14 kg in VAT mass (all p< 0.001). Percent change in BW, BF and VAT were negatively associated with percent change in DHA but positively associated with percent change in DHEA, such that greater increases in DHA and decreases in DHEA were associated with greater losses in BW, BF and VAT. Race and age did not significantly affect changes in BW or fat.

Conclusions: Reductions in BW, BF and VAT were associated with increases in DHA and reductions in DHEA over 12-weeks. Therefore, weight loss diets that increase plasma DHA may be beneficial for the loss of body weight and total and depot specific fat mass.

Funding Sources: National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program (NIDDK, NIAAA, NIA and CC)