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Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 22, No. 6, 546-549 (2003)
Published by the American College of Nutrition

Original Research

Body Cell Mass Measured by Total Body Potassium in Normal-Weight and Obese Men and Women

Antonino De Lorenzo, MD, Angela Andreoli, MD, Paola Serrano, MD, Nicolantonio D’Orazio, MD, Valerio Cervelli, MD and Stella L. Volpe, PhD

Human Nutrition Unit (A.D.L., A.A.), Rome
Plastic Surgery Unit (V.C.), Rome
University of Rome "Tor Vergata" and Whole Body Counter National Council of Research (A.D.L., A.A.), Rome
Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro i Tumori, Reggio Calabria (P.S.)
Human Nutrition Unit, University of Chieti (N.D’O.), Amherst, Massachusetts
Department of Nutrition, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts (S.L.V.)

Address reprint requests to: Angela Andreoli, MD, Human Nutrition Unit, Via Montpellier 1, University of Rome "Tor Vergata," 00173 Rome, ITALY. E-mail: angela.andreoli{at}uniroma2.it

Objective: Total body potassium (TBK) concentration is linearly correlated with the size of the body cell mass (BCM). The aim of this study was to compare BCM in normal-weight and obese individuals.

Methods: 271 individuals (207 males, 64 females), 20 to 67 years of age, participated in this study. Subjects were separated by body mass index (BMI): BMI < 25 kg/m2 (BMI-L) and BMI > 25 kg/m2 (BMI-H). 40K was assessed using a whole-body counter and BCM was calculated.

Results: BCM and TBK were significantly greater in men, with a trend to be greater in women in BMI-H compared to men in BMI-L. TBK/body weight was significantly lower, while TBK/height was significantly greater for men and women in BMI-H compared to men and women in BMI-L. Fat-free mass (FFM) was significantly greater for men in BMI-H, with no significant differences in FFM between the two groups of women.

Conclusions: The healthy obese subjects in the present study had a greater BCM than the non-obese subjects. These results indicate that it is important to assess BCM in obese individuals because it could influence the type of weight loss regimen that will be used in order to preserve BCM.

Abbreviations: body cell mass • body fat • fat free mass • obesity • total body potassium






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