Skip to main content
The Egyptian Journal of Internal Medicine
Download PDF
  • Original article
  • Open access
  • Published:

Zinc level and obesity

The Egyptian Journal of Internal Medicine volume 25, pages 209–212 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Obesity is a chronic condition that is associated with disturbances in the metabolism of zinc. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum zinc level and different clinical and biochemical parameters in obese individuals.

Patients and methods

Twenty-four individuals with BMI more than 30 kg/m2 and 14 healthy controls (BMI < 24 kg/m2) were assessed for BMI and waist circumference using anthropometric measurements. Colorimetric tests were carried out for the determination of zinc in serum.

Results

In this study, BMI and waist circumference were higher in the obese group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The mean serum zinc levels were 92 ± 31.1 and 101 ± 70 μg/dl in the obese group and control group (P > 0.05), respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between the serum zinc level and BMI, waist circumference and low-density lipoprotein (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Plasma zinc concentration in obese individuals showed an inverse relationship with the waist circumference and BMI as well as serum low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and correlated positively with high-density lipoprotein.

References

  1. Fukada T, Yamasaki S, Nishida K, Murakami M, Hirano T, et al. Zinc homoeostasis and signaling in health and diseases: zinc signaling. J Biol Inorg Chem 2011; 16: 1123–1134.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Chasapis CT, Loutsidou AC, Spiliopoulou CA, Stefanidou ME, et al. Zinc and human health: an update. Arch Toxicol 2011; 86: 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Andreini C, Banci L, Bertini I, Rosato A, et al. Counting the zinc-proteins encoded in the human genome. J Proteome Res 2006; 5: 196–201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kelleher SL, McCormick NH, Velasquez V, Lopez V, et al. Zinc in specialized secretory tissues: roles in the pancreas, prostate, and mammary gland. Adv Nutr 2011; 2: 101–111.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jansen J, Rosenkranz E, Overbeck S, Warmuth S, Mocchegiani E, Giacconi R, et al. Disturbed zinc homoeostasis in diabetic patients by in vitro and in vivo analysis of insulinomimetic activity of zinc. J Nutr Biochem 2012; 23: 1458–1466.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hogstrand C, Kille P, Nicholson RI, Taylor KM, et al. Zinc transporters and cancer: A potential role for ZIP7 as a hub for tyrosine kinase activation. Trends Mol Med 2009; 15: 101–111.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kawasaki E, Nakamura K, Kuriya G, Satoh T, Kobayashi M, Kuwahara H, et al. Differences in the humoral autoreactivity to zinc transporter 8 between childhood- and adult-onset type 1 diabetes in Japanese patients. Clin Immunol 2011; 138: 146–153.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Foster M, Samman S. Zinc and redox signaling: Perturbations associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. Antioxid Redox Signal 2010; 13: 1549–1573.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Konukoglu D, Turhan MS, Ercan M, Serin O, et al. Relationship between plasma leptin and zinc levels and the effect of insulin and oxidative stress on leptin levels in obese diabetic patients. J Nutr Biochem 2004; 15: 757– 760.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Naito HK, David JA Laboratory considerations: Determination of cholesterol, triglyceride, phospholipid, and other lipids in blood and tissues. Lab Res Methods Biol Med 1984; 10: 1–76.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Johnsen O, Eliasson R. Evaluation of a commercially available kit for the colorimetric determination of zinc in human seminal plasma. Int J Androl 1987; 10: 435–440.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Ennes Dourado Ferro F, de Sousa Lima VB, Mello Soares NR, Franciscato Cozzolino SM, do Nascimento Marreiro D, et al. Biomarkers of metabolic syndrome and its relationship with the zinc nutritional status in obese women. Nutr Hosp 2011; 26: 650–654.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Marreiro DN, Fisberg M, Cozzolino SMF Zinc nutritional status and its relationships with hyperinsulinemia in obese children and adolescents. Biol Trace Elem Res 2004; 99: 137–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Ozata M, Mergen M, Oktenli C, Aydin A, Sanisoglu SY, Bolu E, et al. Increased oxidative stress and hypozincemia in male obesity. Clin Biochem 2002; 35: 627–631.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Feitosa MC, Lima VB, Neto JM, Marreiro Ddo N, et al. Plasma concentration of IL-6 and TNF-a and its relationship with zincemia in obese women. Rev Assoc Med Bras 2013; 59: 429–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Al-Sabaawy OM. The relationship between serum lipid profile and selected trace elements for adult men in Mosul city. Oman Med J 2012; 27: 300–303.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Farvid MS, Siassi F, Jalali M, Hosseini M, Saadat N, et al. The impact of vitamin and/or mineral supplementation on lipid profiles in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2004; 65: 21–28.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Kadhim HM, Ismail SH, Hussein KI, Bakir IH, Sahib AS, Khalaf BH, Hussain SA, et al. Effects of melatonin and zinc on lipid profile and renal function in type 2 diabetic patients poorly controlled with metformin. J Pineal Res 2006; 41: 189–193.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Kim J, Lee S. Effect of zinc supplementation on insulin resistance and metabolic risk factors in obese Korean women. Nutr Res Pract 2012; 6: 221–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Beletate V, El Dib RP, Atallah AN. Zinc supplementation for the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2007; 24: CD005525.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Sarmento RA, Silva FM, Sbruzzi G, Schaan BD, Almeida JC Antioxidant micronutrients and cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes: a systematic review. Arq Bras Cardiol 2013; 101: 240–248.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Afridi HI, Kazi TG, Kazi N, Baig JA, Jamali MK, Arain MB, et al. Status of essential trace metals in biological samples of diabetic mother and their neonates. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2009; 280: 415–423.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Internal Medicine, National Nutrition Institute, No. 3, Hay’et Tadrees Ein Shams University Towers, El Zaafran Gardens (Ard Elmatbaah), 11331, Abbasia, Cairo, Egypt

    Doaa S. E. Zaky MD

  2. Departments of Clinical Pathology, Al Azhar University, National Nutrition Institute, Cairo, Egypt

    Mahmoud F. Salim

  3. Department of Clinical Nutrition and National Nutrition Institute, Cairo, Egypt

    Eman A. Sultan

  4. Diploma of Clinical Nutrition, National Nutrition Institute, Cairo, Egypt

    Rana S. Dawod

Authors
  1. Doaa S. E. Zaky MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eman A. Sultan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mahmoud F. Salim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rana S. Dawod
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Doaa S. E. Zaky MD.

Rights and permissions

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zaky, D.S.E., Sultan, E.A., Salim, M.F. et al. Zinc level and obesity. Egypt J Intern Med 25, 209–212 (2013). https://doi.org/10.4103/1110-7782.124985

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/1110-7782.124985

Keywords