Total Antioxidant Capacity, Lipid Peroxidation, and Erythrocyte Antioxidant Enzyme Activities in Subjects with Obesity: A Case-Control Study

Considering that the prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically in recent years, one of the key targets of public health is obesity and its associated pathological conditions. Recent evidence suggests that oxidative stress (OS) may be the mechanistic link between obesity and the development of metabolic and vascular diseases related to obesity. In this study, it was hypothesized that obesity would be associated with lipid peroxidation (LP) and antioxidant enzyme activities in erythrocytes.

In this case-control study, 80 subjects with obesity and 80 age- and gender-matched subjects with normal weight were selected from the health centers affiliated with Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Iran. General information was gathered from each participant using questionnaires. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), as well as, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and catalase (CAT) activities underwent assessment.

The study sample consisted of 160 obese adults (42.5% males and 57.5% females, with a mean age of 41.0 ± 7.6 years). Serum MDA levels (P = 0.016) and erythrocyte SOD activity (P = 0.013) were significantly higher in subjects with obesity compared to non-obese controls. Moreover, subjects with obesity had significantly lower serum TAC (P = 0.008) in comparison to the controls. There were no significant differences in erythrocyte GPX and CAT activities between subjects with obesity and non-obese controls. Significant positive correlations were observed between body mass index (BMI) and serum MDA levels (r = -0.461, P < 0.001) and erythrocyte SOD activity (r = -0.442, P = 0.002). Furthermore, a significant inverse correlation was found between BMI and serum TAC levels (r = -0.426, P = 0.008).

The present findings provide further evidence suggesting that obesity leads to substantial LP and OS, which, in turn, may contribute to the development of obesity-related diseases.