Divergent Effects of Short‐Term, Very‐Low‐Calorie Diet on Insulin‐Like Growth Factor‐I and Insulin‐Like Growth Factor Binding Protein‐3 Serum Concentrations in Premenopausal Women with Obesity

DE PERGOLA, GIOVANNI, MAURO ZAMBONI, NICOLA PANNACCIULLI, EMANUELA TURCATO, FRANCESCO GIORGINO, FABIO ARMELLINI, FRANCESCO LOGOLUSO, MARCELLO SCIARAFFIA, OTTAVIO BOSELLO, RICCARDO GIORGINO. Divergent effects of short‐term, very‐low‐calorie diet on insulinlike growth factor‐I and insulin‐like growth factor binding protein‐3 serum concentrations in premenopausal women with obesity. Obes Res . 1998;6:408–415. Objective : Insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) and insulinlike growth factor binding protein‐3 (IGFBP‐3) serum concentrations provide a good measure of the biological effects of growth, hormone. The aims of the present study were to: (1) investigate the associations of IGF‐I and IGFBP‐3 with body fat mass and distribution, and (2) evaluate the effects of 3 weeks of very‐low‐calorie diet (VLCD) (318 kcal/day, with 40 g protein, 35 g carbohydrate, and 2 g fat) on IGF‐I and IGFBP‐3 serum concentrations. Research Methods and Procedures : The study was performed in 21 nondiabetic premenopausal women with obesity (body mass index <27.0 kg/m 2 ; age: ranging from 18 to 48 years). Body fat mass and distribution were measured by computed tomography. Results : Before dietary treatment, IGF‐I and IGFBP‐3 serum concentrations were inversely associated with visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area ( p <0.005 and p <0.05, respectively), but not with either total body fat or subcutaneous adipose tissue area. VLCD produced a significant decrease of body mass index ( p <0.001), total body fat ( p <0.001), VAT ( p <0.005), subcutaneous adipose tissue ( p <0.001), IGF‐I concentrations ( p <0.05), and an increase of IGFBP‐3 serum levels ( p <0.001). The association of VAT with either IGF‐I or IGFBP‐3 serum concentrations was not maintained following VLCD. Discussion : Our study suggests that visceral adipose tissue, rather than adiposity per se, accounts for IGF‐I and IGFBP‐3 serum concentrations, and that rapid weight loss, possibly due to nutritional changes, results in lower IGF‐I concentrations, higher IGFBP‐3 concentrations, and abrogation of the inverse associations of VAT with IGF‐I and IGFBP‐3.