The effect of standardized food intake on the association between BMI and 1H-NMR metabolites

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 38980
• Main Authors: Schutte, Bianca A. M., van den Akker, Erik B., Deelen, Joris, van de Rest, Ondine, van Heemst, Diana, Feskens, Edith J. M., Beekman, Marian, Slagboom, P. Eline
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14.12.2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/4017; 692/53/2423; Biomarkers; Chair Nutrition and Health over the Lifecourse; Fasting; Fish; Food intake; Global Nutrition; Glycolysis; High density lipoprotein; HNE Nutrition and Health over the Lifecourse; HNE Voeding en Gezondheid in de Levenscyclus; Humanities and Social Sciences; Lipoproteins (very low density); Low density lipoprotein; Metabolites; multidisciplinary; Risk factors; Science; Standardization; VLAG; Wereldvoeding
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep38980

Multiple studies have shown that levels of 1 H-NMR metabolites are associated with disease and risk factors of disease such as BMI. While most previous investigations have been performed in fasting samples, meta-analysis often includes both cohorts with fasting and non-fasting blood samples. In the present study comprising 153 participants (mean age 63 years; mean BMI 27 kg/m 2 ) we analyzed the effect of a standardized liquid meal (SLM) on metabolite levels and how the SLM influenced the association between metabolites and BMI. We observed that many metabolites, including glycolysis related metabolites, multiple amino acids, LDL diameter, VLDL and HDL lipid concentration changed within 35 minutes after a standardized liquid meal (SLM), similarly for all individuals. Remarkable, however, is that the correlations of metabolite levels with BMI remained highly similar before and after the SLM. Hence, as exemplified with the disease risk factor BMI, our results suggest that the applicability of 1 H-NMR metabolites as disease biomarkers depends on the standardization of the fasting status rather than on the fasting status itself. Future studies are required to investigate the dependency of metabolite biomarkers for other disease risk factors on the fasting status.