By Martha Kerr
LOS ANGELES (Reuters Health) – A study presented here at Digestive Disease Week 2006 shows that conjugated linoleic acid supplements induce a change in body fat distribution, with the greatest fat reductions occurring in the abdomen and legs. Meanwhile, body weight and body mass index are essentially unaffected.
Conjugated linoleic acid is found in fats from ruminant animals, such as cows or sheep, and from dairy products, Dr. Alexandra Einerhand of the Lipid Nutrition Center in Loders Croklaan, Wormerveer, the Netherlands, and colleagues in Norway explain in their meeting abstract. The body normally stores low levels of conjugated linoleic acid, ranging from 150 mg to 400 mg, the Dutch researcher noted.
Einerhand’s team randomly assigned 105 overweight or obese adults to 3.4 grams per day of conjugated linoleic acid or to a placebo, consisting of olive oil, for 6 months.
There was a significant 5.6 percent drop in body fat mass in participants given the conjugated linoleic acid supplement compared with those given placebo at the end of the 6-month study period, the researchers report.
Reductions in fat mass were already detectable after 3 months. In women, reductions occurred in both the abdomen and legs, while in men, reductions were only seen in the abdomen. The conjugated linoleic acid supplements did not affect tissue composition in the arms.
Waist circumference dropped by 3.1 cm, while waist-to-hip ratio fell 0.024. Body weight was reduced by 1.5 kg and BMI was 0.6 lower, although Dr. Einerhand said these changes were not statistically significant.
Individuals with the highest BMIs at baseline showed the greatest response to conjugated linoleic acid supplementation.
“These changes were independent of diet and exercise,” she added.
Einerhand told Reuters Health that there appeared to be no toxicity with conjugated linoleic acid supplements and a number of other parameters the investigators measured were unaffected.
Insulin sensitivity, HDL (“good” cholesterol) and LDL (“bad cholesterol) levels, and biological markers of inflammation were also unchanged, she commented. “It may be that the changes are too modest to be seen at this time,” Einerhand suggested.
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