OBJECTIVE Homocysteine is a sex-related risk factor for cardiovascular disease but the reason for dimorphism is unclear. It has been hypothesized that fat-free mass is an independent determinant of the circulating homocysteine and methionine concentrations. METHODS The relationship of homocysteine to body composition was investigated in 52 healthy middle-aged 40-60 year olds. Plasma total hom...

While total body mass has been recognized for many years as having a strong positive association with blood pressure, it is not known whether body mass per se is important in this association or if a component of total mass, such as lean body mass or total body fat, is responsible for the relationship. To determine the relative importance of these components, 217 healthy adults unselected with ...

The purpose of this study was to measure postabsorptive fat oxidation at rest and to assess the association between fat mass and fat oxidation rate in prepubertal children, who were assigned to two groups: 35 obese children (weight, 44.5 +/- 9.7 kg; fat mass; 31.7 +/- 5.4%) and 37 nonobese children (weight, 30.8 +/- 6.8 kg; fat mass, 17.5 +/- 6.7%). Postabsorptive fat oxidation expressed in abs...

Although the association between body weight and blood pressure is irrefutable, body fat mass and blood pressure level may not necessarily be directly related. To clarify the relative contribution of fat mass to blood pressure level, we analyzed data on 399 adults consecutively entering a weight control program. Although most subjects were notably overweight (mean ideal body weight 177%), the p...

The contributions of genetic and environmental factors to the association among bone mineral density (BMD), lean mass, and fat mass were assessed in the Sydney Twin Study of Osteoporosis (Australia), 1995-1996, in 57 monozygotic and 55 dizygotic female twin pairs of Caucasian background, aged 52.8 (standard deviation, 13) years. In multiple regression analysis, lean mass was a significant deter...