Body weight Management

Seven (7) publications meeting criteria for this review were available. No investigations specifically measured the effect of tomato / tomato-based foods or lycopene on weight loss or weight management endpoints. However, adults and children who have a higher body mass index or who have greater fat mass tend to have lower concentrations of plasma carotenoids and lycopene. These findings may reflect dietary patterns and or absorption or metabolic insufficiencies in overweight and obese individuals compared to healthy weight individuals. Research on dietary lycopene intake, supplementation and tomato-specific intake on body management and metabolic endpoints will expand the understanding of this relationship.

BODY WEIGHT - Plasma/Serum Lycopene and Disease Risk
Main findings

• No studies specifically investigated the effect of tomato/tomato-based products or lycopene on weight loss or weight management endpoints.
• People with higher BMIs or who have greater fat mass have lower concentrations of plasma carotenoids and lycopene.
• This may reflect dietary patterns, absorption and or metabolic insufficiencies in overweight/obese individuals compared to healthy weight individuals.

Summary of studies and outcomes

Plasma/Serum Lycopene and Disease Risk

This section critically evaluates the relationship between plasma/serum lycopene concentrations
and body mass index (BMI).

Disease type	First Author	Study Title and Complete Citation	Date	Abstract	Study Type	G.Tom +, N, >	P.Tom +, N,	F.Tom +, N, -	Lyco +, N,	Other +, N,
BW	Burrows TL	Validation of overweight children's fruit and vegetable intake using plasma carotenoids. Burrows TL, Warren JM, Colyvas K, Garg ML, Collins CE. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2009 Jan;17(1):162-8. Epub 2008 Nov 6.	2009	Assessing dietary intake in children is difficult and limited validated tools exist. Plasma carotenoids are nutritional biomarkers of fruit and vegetable intake and therefore suitable to validate reported dietary intakes. The aim of this study was to examine the comparative validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), completed by parents reporting child fruit and vegetable intake compared to plasma carotenoid concentrations. A sample of children aged 5-12 years (n = 93) from a range of weight categories were assessed. Dietary intake was measured using a 137-item semi-quantitative FFQ. Plasma carotenoids were measured using reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Pearson correlation coefficients between reported dietary intake of carotenoids and plasma carotenoid concentrations were strongest after adjustment for BMI (beta-carotene (r = 0.56, P < 0.05), alpha-carotene (r = 0.51, P < 0.001), cryptoxanthin (r = 0.32, P < 0.001)). Significantly lower levels (P < 0.05) of all plasma carotenoids, except lutein, were found among overweight and obese children when compared to healthy weight children. Parental report of children's carotenoid intakes, using a FFQ can be used to provide a relative validation of fruit and vegetable intake. The lower plasma carotenoid concentrations found in overweight and obese children requires further investigation.	CS					(-) ↓ [plasma] of ALL carotenoi ds in OW/OB vs HW ↓ carotenoi ds with ↑ BMI
BW	Ribaya-Mercado	Relationships of body mass index with serum carotenoids, tocopherols and retinol at steady-state and in response to a carotenoid-rich vegetable diet intervention in Filipino schoolchildren. Ribaya-Mercado JD, Maramag CC, Tengco LW, Blumberg JB, Solon FS. Biosci Rep. 2008 Apr;28(2):97-106. Compound (MeSH Keyword),	2008	In marginally nourished children, information is scarce regarding the circulating concentrations of carotenoids and tocopherols, and retinol at steady state and in response to a 9-week vegetable diet intervention in 9-12-year-old girls (n=54) and boys (n=65) in rural Philippines. We determined cross-sectional relationships of BMI (body mass index) with serum micronutrient levels, and whether BMI is a determinant of serum carotenoid responses to the ingestion of carotenoid-rich vegetables. We measured dietary nutrient intakes and assessed inflammation by measurement of serum C-reactive protein levels. The children had low serum concentrations of carotenoids, tocopherols and retinol as compared with published values for similar-aged children in the U.S.A. The low serum retinol levels can be ascribed to inadequate diets and were not the result of confounding due to inflammation. Significant inverse correlations of BMI and serum all-trans-beta-carotene, 13-cis-beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and alpha-tocopherol (but not beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and retinol) were observed among girls at baseline. The dietary intervention markedly enhanced the serum concentrations of all carotenoids. Changes in serum all-trans-beta-carotene and alpha-carotene (but not changes in lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-cryptoxanthin) in response to the dietary intervention were inversely associated with BMI in girls and boys. Thus, in Filipino school-aged children, BMI is inversely related to the steady-state serum concentrations of certain carotenoids and vitamin E, but not vitamin A, and is a determinant of serum beta- and alpha-carotene responses, but not xanthophyll responses, to the ingestion of carotenoid-rich vegetable meals.	CS				N

 

Disease type	Firs t Author	Study Title and Complete Citation	Date	Abstract	Study Type	G.Tom +, N,	P.Tom +, N,	F.Tom +, N, -	Lyco +, N,	Other +, N,
BW	Vioque J	Plasma concentrations of carotenoids and vitamin C are better correlated with dietary intake in normal weight than overweight and obese elderly subjects. Vioque J, Weinbrenner T, Asensio L, Castella A, Young IS, Fletcher A. Br J Nutr. 2007 May;97(5):977-86.	2007	Carotenoid and vitamin C intakes, assessed by FFQ, have been positively associated with plasma concentrations in different populations. However, the influence of BMI on these associations has not been explored in detail. We explored in a cross-sectional study the relation between dietary carotenoid and vitamin C intakes, using a 135-item FFQ, with their plasma concentrations by BMI categories in 252 men and 293 women, 65 years and older. For men and women combined, significant (P < 0.05) Pearson correlations were observed between energy-adjusted dietary intakes and plasma concentrations (carotenoids adjusted for cholesterol) for: alpha-carotene 0.21, beta-carotene 0.19, lycopene 0.18, beta-cryptoxanthin 0.20 and vitamin C 0.36. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the intake of carotenoids and vitamin C were significant predictors of their respective plasma concentration (P<0.01), and that BMI was inversely associated with plasma concentration of carotenoids (P< or =0.01) but not with plasma vitamin C. In addition, we observed significant interactions between BMI and the intakes of alpha-carotene and lutein + zeaxanthin, and to a lower extent beta-carotene, suggesting that these intakes in subjects with high BMI were not good predictors of their plasma concentration. The present data suggest that plasma carotenoids and vitamin C may be good markers of dietary intake in elderly subjects, but not so for alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lutein + zeaxanthin in obese subjects.	CS				(-) ↓ plasma [lyco] with ↑ BMI

 

Diseas e type	First Author	Study Title and Complete Citation	Date	Abstract	Study Type	G.Tom +, N, >	P.Tom +, N,	F.Tom +, N, -	Lyco +, N,	Other +, N,
BW	Grolier P	Age-related changes in plasma lycopene concentrations, but not in vitamin E, are associated with fat mass. Grolier P, Boirie Y, Levadoux E, Brandolini M, Borel P, Azais-Braesco V, Beaufrare B, Ritz P. Br J Nutr. 2000 Nov;84(5):711-6.	2000	The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of age on plasma concentration of alpha-tocopherol, retinol and carotenoids with a special attention paid to natural differences in body composition. Forty healthy subjects were recruited: twenty were less than 35 years old and twenty above 60 years old. Males and females were equally represented in each age group. Subjects were kept in energy balance and received controlled diets for 36 h. Fat mass and fat-free mass were determined with the (18)0-enriched water dilution technique. Plasma vitamins A and E, and carotenoid levels were determined after 12 h fasting and were shown to be similar in women and men. Plasma alpha-tocopherol concentration increased with age (+44 % elderly v. young), and correlated with % fat mass and plasma cholesterol. After adjustment for plasma cholesterol, the effect of age and % fat mass disappeared. In contrast, plasma lycopene level was 2-fold lower in the elderly than in the young group, and was inversely correlated with fat mass. When lycopene values were adjusted for fat mass, the effect of age disappeared. These results suggest that plasma levels of vitamin E and lycopene differed in the two age groups and that differences in plasma cholesterol and fat mass might participate in such an effect. Short-term vitamin intake did not appear to influence plasma vitamin concentrations.	Interv					(-+) plasma [lyco] 2x lower in old vs young ~~~~~ N adj for fat mass, no age effect ~~~~~ ↓ with ↑ age
BW	Anderson LF	Longitudinal associations between body mass index and serum carotenoids: the CARDIA study. Andersen LF, Jacobs DR Jr, Gross MD, Schreiner PJ, Dale Williams O, Lee DH. Br J Nutr. 2006 Feb;95(2):358-65.	2006	Cross-sectional studies report an inverse association between BMI and serum carotenoid concentration. The present study examined the prospective association between BMI and the serum concentration of five carotenoids in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Serum carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin/lutein, lycopene), BMI, dietary intake, physical activity and dietary supplement use were measured at years 0 and 7 in 3071 black and white male and female participants, who were either persistent smokers or non-smokers. Among non-smokers, year 0 BMI predicted year 7 serum carotenoid levels: obese subjects (BMI > or =30 kg/m2) had an average concentration of the sum of four carotenoids (alpha-carotene +beta-carotene + zeaxanthin/lutein+beta-cryptoxanthin) that was 22 % lower than the concentration among subjects with a BMI of less than 22 kg/m2. In contrast, the sum of carotenoids among smokers was only 6 % lower. Relationships between BMI and serum lycopene were weak. The change from year 0 to year 7 in serum carotenoids, except for lycopene, was inversely associated with the change in BMI among non-smokers but not among smokers. Parallel finding	PC				N	BMI

 

Disease type	First Author	Study Title and Complete Citation	Date	Abstract	Study Type	G.Tom +, N,	P.Tom +, N,	F.Tom +, N, -	Lyco +, N,	Other +, N,
BW	Dancheck B	Status of carotenoids, vitamin A, and vitamin E in the mother-infant dyad and anthropometric status of infants in Malawi. Dancheck B, Nussenblatt V, Kumwenda N, Lema V, Neville MC, Broadhead R, Taha TE, Ricks MO, Semba RD. J Health Popul Nutr. 2005 Dec;23(4):343-50.	2005	This prospective study was carried out during February 2000-April 2003 to characterize the relationship between the status of carotenoids, vitamin E, and retinol and anthropometric status in apparently healthy infants and their mothers in Blantyre, Malawi. Anthropometric status of infants and concentrations of carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene), retinol, and alpha-tocopherol in plasma were measured in 173 infants at 12 months of age, and concentrations of carotenoids, retinol, and a-tocopherol in plasma were measured in their mothers two weeks postpartum. In multivariate analyses, concentrations of retinol, total carotenoids, non-provitamin A carotenoids, and alpha-tocopherol in infants were associated with under-weight (p = 0.05). Concentrations of a-tocopherol were associated with wasting (p = 0.04). Concentrations in mothers and infants were all correlated (correlation coefficients from 0.230 to 0.502, p < 0.003). The findings suggest that poor status of carotenoids, retinol, and alpha-tocopherol in infants is associated with their poor anthropometric status, and status of carotenoids, retinol, and alpha-tocopherol in mothers and infants has a low-to-moderate association in the mother-infant dyad.	PC				(-) ↓ plasma [lyco] = underwei ght