Distribution of adipose tissue and muscle mass in alcoholic men

An elevated waist to hip ratio (WHR) has been found to be a predictor for several prevalent diseases. To examine the potential role of alcohol in the elevation of WHR, established alcoholic men without severe liver damage who were in adequate nutritional condition were compared with organized teetotalers matched for age, height, and body weight; the groups had similar total body fat content and lean body mass. Computed tomographic (CT) measurements at thigh and trunk levels showed a significant increase in the visceral adipose tissue (AT) areas and a slight decrease of muscle areas in the gluteal and femoral regions of the alcoholics. The alcoholic men had 48% of their AT areas of trunk scans localized retroperitoneally and intraperitoneally compared with 38% for the teetotalers (P < .01). The difference seemed to be more marked for retroperitoneal than for intraperitoneal AT (97 v 60 cm2, P < .01). The elevated visceral AT areas seemed to be independent of smoking. It was concluded that the increased WHR of alcoholics may include not only changes in AT, but also in muscle tissue distribution.