CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 209Body Composition Measurement TechniquesNutrition and Health in AgingRegulation of Appetite and Obesity

Contribution of individual organ mass loss to weight loss-associated decline in resting energy expenditure

Open access
Bosy-Westphal, Anja, Kossel, Elke, Goele, Kristin, Later, Wiebke, Hitze, Britta, Settler, Uta, Heller, Martin, Glüer, Claus-Christian +2 more·2009·The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
DOI 10.3945/ajcn.2008.27402
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Background Weight loss leads to reduced resting energy expenditure (REE) independent of fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) loss, but the effect of changes in FFM composition is unclear.Objective We hypothesized that a decrease in REE adjusted for FFM with weight loss would be partly explained by a disproportionate loss in the high metabolic activity component of FFM.Design Forty-five overweight and obese women [body mass index (in kg/m(2)): 28.7-46.8] aged 22-46 y followed a low-calorie diet for 12.7 +/- 2.2 wk. Body composition was measured by magnetic resonance imaging, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and a 4-compartment model. REE measured by indirect calorimetry (REEm) was compared with REE calculated from detailed body-composition analysis (REEc) by using specific organ metabolic rates (ie, organ REE/mass).Results Weight loss was 9.5 +/- 3.4 kg (8.0 +/- 2.9 kg FM and 1.5 +/- 3.1 kg FFM). Decreases in REE (-8%), free triiodothyronine concentrations (-8%), muscle (-3%), heart (-5%), liver (-4%), and kidney mass (-6%) were observed (all P < 0.05). Relative loss in organ mass was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than was the change in low metabolically active FFM components (muscle, bone, and residual mass). After weight loss, REEm - REEc decreased from 0.24 +/- 0.58 to 0.01 +/- 0.44 MJ/d (P = 0.01) and correlated with the decrease in free triiodothyronine concentrations (r = 0.33, P < 0.05). Women with high adaptive thermogenesis (defined as REEm - REEc < -0.17 MJ/d) had less weight loss and conserved FFM, liver, and kidney mass.Conclusions After weight loss, almost 50% of the decrease in REEm was explained by losses in FFM and FM. The variability in REEm explained by body composition increased to 60% by also considering the weight of individual organs.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3945/ajcn.2008.27402

Cites

59 of 59 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • In that study, of the 1.5-kg FFM loss, 0.9 kg (60%) originated from skeletal muscle, 0.1 kg (7%) from kidney, heart, and liver, and 0.5 kg (33%) from the fat-free component of adipose tissue, gastrointestinal tract, skin, or other unmeasured components.

    “it was estimated that 0.9 kg (60% of FFM loss) originated from skeletal muscle, while 0.1 kg (7% of FFM loss) came from the kidney, heart, and liver; and 0.5 kg (33% of FFM loss) was due to the fat-free component of adipose tissue, the gastrointestinal tract, skin, or other unmeasured components.”

    From Fundamental Body Composition Principles Provide Context for Fat-Free and Skeletal Muscle Loss With GLP-1 RA Treatments (2024) · cites this paper as [29]

    The Body composition passage reports a 1.5-kg FFM loss, including 923 g of skeletal muscle and 113 g from the liver, heart, and kidneys, supporting the rounded amounts and percentages. It describes the remaining 0.5 kg as likely due to several components, including bone, and to measurement error; the citing sentence omits bone and measurement error and presents that allocation more definitively. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • In that study, of the 0.9 kg total skeletal muscle loss, 0.7 kg (46% of FFM loss) was due to reductions of water while only 0.15 kg (10% of FFM loss) was due to actual protein loss.

    “of the 0.9 kg of total skeletal muscle loss, 0.7 kg (46% of FFM loss) was due to reductions of water while only 0.15 kg (10% of FFM loss) was due to actual protein loss.”

    From Fundamental Body Composition Principles Provide Context for Fat-Free and Skeletal Muscle Loss With GLP-1 RA Treatments (2024) · cites this paper as [29]

    The Body composition section reports a mean loss of 923 g of skeletal muscle and 1.5 kg of fat-free mass, supporting the approximate 0.9 kg muscle-loss figure. It does not attribute 0.7 kg of that loss to water or 0.15 kg to protein, or report the claimed 46% and 10% breakdown. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Diet-induced weight loss reduces muscle mass without adversely affecting muscle strength.

    “diet-induced weight loss reduces muscle mass without adversely affecting muscle strength”

    From Preserving Healthy Muscle during Weight Loss (2017) · cites this paper as [47]

    The Body composition section reports a mean loss of 923 g of skeletal muscle mass after the low-calorie weight-loss intervention. The paper does not report a muscle-strength outcome, so it does not support the claim that strength was unaffected. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The reductions in muscle mass in young and old men and women with obesity after diet-induced weight loss of 8-10% were about 2-10%.

    “The reductions in muscle mass in young and old men and women with obesity after diet-induced weight-loss of 8-10% were ;2-10% (47, 52-56, 59, 62-66).”

    From Preserving Healthy Muscle during Weight Loss (2017) · cites this paper as [47]

    The Body composition section reports a 3.2% mean reduction in skeletal muscle mass after diet-induced weight loss, within the claimed 2–10% range. But the Study protocol limits the participants to women aged 22–41, predominantly with obesity; the paper does not establish that range for men or older adults. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Bosy-Westphal et al found that in a group of women with overweight and obesity, a 9.5-kg loss of body mass resulted in a 1.5-kg loss of FFM during a low-energy diet.

    “Bosy-Westphal et al [29] found that in a group of women with overweight and obesity, a 9.5-kg loss of body mass resulted in a 1.5-kg loss of FFM during a low-energy diet.”

    From Fundamental Body Composition Principles Provide Context for Fat-Free and Skeletal Muscle Loss With GLP-1 RA Treatments (2024) · cites this paper as [29]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [18]18. Pasman WJ, Saris WH, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Predictors of weight maintainance. Obes Res 1999;7:43-50.
  2. [45]45. Ritz P, Gueguen N, Simard G, Topart P, Becouarn G. Improvement of liver mitochondrial energy metabolism in calorie restricted obese pa- tients. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2008;32:S16 (abstr).

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Bosy-Westphal, A., Kossel, E., Goele, K., Later, W., Hitze, B., Settler, U., Heller, M., Glüer, C.-C., Heymsfield, S. B., & Müller, M. J.
Affiliations
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA (United States) (US)
Corresponding author
Müller, Manfred J
ORCID
Venue
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2009-10
Volume
90
Issue
4
Pages
993-1001
ISSN
0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3945/ajcn.2008.27402
OpenAlex
W2079437279
Cited by
209
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 25 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 12
FWCI
6.18
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
Keywords
resting energy expenditure, weight loss, fat-free mass, fat mass, adaptive thermogenesis, hypocaloric diet, obesity, free triiodothyronine, muscle mass, liver mass, renal mass, cardiac mass, body composition
MeSH terms
Adipose Tissue, Adult, Body Fluid Compartments, Diet, Reducing, Energy Metabolism, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Obesity, Organ Size, Rest, Triiodothyronine, Weight Loss, Thermogenesis, Overweight, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review