Insulin Resistance, Weight Gain Lead to Early Aging

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Guess we knew this...

Too fresh for a pubmed listing(?), but here's the Press Release.

Mike

Insulin Resistance, Weight Gain Lead to Early Aging

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Medical News Keywords

INSULIN RESISTANCE, AGING, OBESITY

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Description

Tulane University researchers demonstrate that people with insulin

resistance and weight gain also have prematurely shortened white

blood cell telomeres -- a widely recognized sign of aging.

Newswise — Tulane University researchers are the first to

demonstrate a biological link between insulin resistance, weight

gain and signs of early aging in the blood. Obesity has long been

known to result in early death, but researchers don't fully

understand the process of aging at the cellular level. In a study

published in this month's Circulation, Tulane University researchers

demonstrate that people with insulin resistance and weight gain also

have prematurely shortened white blood cell telomeres - a widely

recognized sign of aging. Telomeres are part of each chromosome and

naturally become shorter over time as cells multiply and reproduce.

" We know that obesity and insulin resistance place a physical burden

on the body, leading to inflammation, the production of more blood

to feed the body, and oxidative stress, all of which are important

factors in the biology of aging, " says cardiologist Gerald Berenson,

co-author of the study.

" It makes sense that we would see other signs of aging, like

shortening of the white blood cell telomeres, as well, " Berenson

says.

Researchers analyzed blood drawn from 49 adults who participated in

the Bogalusa Heart Study at least twice between 1988 and 2001.

Researchers also analyzed data related to weight, blood pressure and

diet and lifestyle factors. The researchers found that as people's

weight and insulin resistance increased, they also experienced a

shortening of the telomeres of their white blood cells.

Insulin resistance is a reduced sensitivity in the tissues of the

body to the action of insulin, a hormone that brings blood sugar

(glucose) to those tissues to be used as a source of energy. To

compensate, the body works harder to produce more insulin while at

the same time failing to lower blood sugar levels.

The Bogalusa Heart Study is the longest-running, biracial, community-

based study of heart disease risk factors beginning in childhood in

the world. Since its inception in 1973, Berenson and his staff have

screened over 16,000 adults and children in the Bogalusa, La. area

in an effort to understand heart disease risk factors over the

lifespan. Children who began the study in the 1970s while they were

in elementary school are now adults who continue to participate in

the screening process. Moving from a pediatric study, the

investigators now are studying aging. Funding for the research comes

from the National Institutes on Aging and Heart, Lung and Blood.