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Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Optimized Analysis of In Vivo and In Vitro Hepatic Steatosis
Published on: March 11, 2017
The effect of weight loss on whole-body and tissue-specific insulin sensitivity and hepatic lipid content and
Michelle D Pang1, Jacco J A J Bastings1, Yvonne M H Op den Kamp-Bruls2,3
1Department of Human Biology, School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Objective:
This study (1) investigated the effect of weight loss on whole-body and tissue-specific insulin sensitivity and on intrahepatic lipid (IHL) content and composition and (2) investigated the association between weight-loss-induced changes in insulin sensitivity and IHL content in individuals with overweight or obesity.
Methods:
In this secondary analysis of the European SWEET project, 50 adults (age 18-65 years) with overweight or obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 ) followed a low-energy diet (LED) for 2 months. At baseline and after the LED, body composition (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), IHL content and composition (proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy), whole-body insulin sensitivity (Matsuda index), muscle insulin sensitivity index (MISI), and hepatic insulin resistance index (HIRI) were determined (7-point oral glucose tolerance test).
Results:
The LED reduced body weight (p < 0.001). This was accompanied by increased Matsuda index and reduced HIRI (both p < 0.001) but no change in MISI (p = 0.260). Weight loss decreased IHL content (mean [SEM], 3.9% [0.7%] vs. 1.6% [0.5%], p < 0.001) and the hepatic saturated fatty acid fraction (41.0% [1.5%] vs. 36.6% [1.9%], p = 0.039). The reduced IHL content was associated with an improvement in HIRI (r = 0.402, p = 0.025).
Conclusions:
Weight loss decreased IHL content and the hepatic saturated fatty acid fraction. The decrease in IHL content was associated with weight-loss-induced improvement in hepatic insulin sensitivity in individuals with overweight or obesity.
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