Tulane University researchers demonstrated that people with insulin resistance and weight gain also have prematurely shortened white blood cell telomeres - a widely recognized sign of aging.

Telomeres are part of each chromosome and naturally become shorter over time as cells multiply and reproduce.

“ We know that obesity and insulin resistance place a physical burden on the body, leading to inflammation, the production of more blood to feed the body, and oxidative stress, all of which are important factors in the biology of aging,” says cardiologist Gerald Berenson, co-author of the study.

Researchers analyzed blood drawn from 49 adults who participated in the Bogalusa Heart Study at least twice between 1988 and 2001.
They also analyzed data related to weight, blood pressure and diet and lifestyle factors.

The researchers found that as people's weight and insulin resistance increased, they also experienced a shortening of the telomeres of their white blood cells.

Insulin resistance is a reduced sensitivity in the tissues of the body to the action of insulin, a hormone that brings glucose to those tissues to be used as a source of energy. To compensate, the body works harder to produce more insulin while at the same time failing to lower blood sugar levels.

The Bogalusa Heart Study is the longest-running, biracial, community-based study of heart disease risk factors beginning in childhood in the world.

Since its inception in 1973, Berenson and colleagues have screened over 16,000 adults and children in the Bogalusa, Louisiana area in an effort to understand heart disease risk factors over the lifespan.
Children who began the study in the 1970s while they were in elementary school are now adults who continue to participate in the screening process.

The study has been published in Circulation.

Source: Tulane University, 2005


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