PhD defence: Liver fat, metabolic dysfunction and effects of dairy foods in individuals with abdominal obesity
PhD defence by
Karoline Sandby
About the PhD thesis
It is well established that obesity and metabolic dysfunction are closely linked to the risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. During the past decades, advances in medical imaging technology have increased awareness and understanding of fat stored in non-adipose tissue, such as the liver, and its link to metabolic function, even independently of total body adiposity.
While weight loss per se remains the primary strategy for reducing liver fat, achieving and maintaining a clinically significant weight loss is challenging. Nonetheless, evidence for dietary strategies for reducing liver fat independently of weight loss are scarce and inconsistent, and it is therefore important to explore strategies for reducing liver fat that are independent of weight loss (Paper I).
Observational studies suggest that consuming fermented dairy products, particularly yogurt, may have health benefits and reduce risk of cardiometabolic diseases. However, evidence on the impact of yogurt consumption on liver fat balance is limited.
Accordingly, the overarching aim of this PhD thesis was to explore the role of liver fat as a marker of metabolic function, and evaluate the effect of dairy foods, in particular yogurt, in modifying liver fat content in males with abdominal obesity during body weight stability.
To achieve this, we conducted a 16-week randomised controlled trial to investigate the effect of yogurt compared to milk on liver fat and cardiometabolic risk in males with abdominal obesity (Paper II). Additionally, a cross-sectional analysis was performed to compare individuals with low and high liver fat content, to further explore the role of liver fat as a marker of metabolic function independent of other common measures of adiposity (Paper III).
The results from this PhD thesis underline the importance of liver fat content as a marker of metabolic function independently of other adiposity markers (Paper III).
Contrary to our hypothesis, the effect of yogurt compared to milk was not superior in reducing liver fat and improving cardiometabolic risk during body weight stability. However, consumption of all included dairy products, fermented or not, led to similar mild improvements in some cardiometabolic risk markers without affecting liver fat content (Paper II).
Download Publications; Summary; Dansk sammendrag (Danish summary); Table of contents.
2024, 241 pages.
Time
25 September 2024, 13:00
Place
Festauditoriet, Bülowsvej 17. 1870 Frederiksberg C
Opponents
Professor Inge Tetens (chair), Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Professor Leanne Hodson, Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Oxford University, UK.
Clinical Associate Professor, Konstantin Kazankov, MD, PhD Department of Clinical Medicine – Hepatology and Gastroenterology Aarhus University, Denmark.
Principal supervisor
Professor Faidon Magkos, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Co-supervisor
Nina Rica Wium Geiker, Centre for Childhood Health, Denmark.