Abstract
Increasing rates of obesity have stimulated research into possible contributing factors, including specific dietary components such as trans fatty acids (TFAs). This review considers the evidence for an association between TFA intake and weight gain. It concludes that there is limited but consistent evidence from epidemiological studies, and from a primate model, that increased TFA consumption may result in a small additional weight gain. Data from a long-term study in a primate model suggest that TFA may have a greater adipogenic effect than cis monounsaturated fatty acids; however, there are currently inadequate mechanistic data to provide a comprehensive and plausible explanation for any such metabolic differences between the types of fatty acids.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Vimaleswaran KS and Loos RJF (2010). Progress in the genetics of common obesity and type 2 diabetes. Expert Rev Mol Med 2010; 12: e7.
Rosenheck R . Fast food consumption and increased caloric intake: a systematic review of a trajectory towards weight gain and obesity risk. Obesity Rev 2008; 9: 535–547.
Farmer SR . Obesity: be cool, lose weight. Nature 2009; 458: 839–840.
Patel SR, Hu FB . Short sleep duration and weight gain: a systematic review. Obesity 2008; 16: 643–653.
Rundle A, Roux AVD, Freeman LM, Miller D, Neckerman KM, Weiss CC . The urban buildt environment and obesity in New York City: a multilevel analysis. Am J Health Promot 2007; 21 (Suppl 4): 326–334.
Lindström M . Means of transportation to work and overweight and obesity: a population-based study in southern Sweden. Prev Med 2008; 46: 22–28.
Garland E, Remick R, Zis A . Weight gain with antidepressants and lithium. J Clin Psychopharmacol 1988; 8: 323–330.
Cohen-Cole E, Fletcher JM . Is obesity contagious? Social networks vs environmental factors in the obesity epidemic. J Health Econ 2008; 27: 1382–1387.
Boltri J, House A, Nelson R . Clinical inquiries. Which strategies work best to prevent obesity in adults? J Fam Pract. 2009; 58: 668–676.
Moussavi N, Gavino V, Receveur O . Could the quality of dietary fat, and not just its quantity, be related to risk of obesity? Obesity 2009; 16: 7–15.
Mann GV . Metabolic consequences of dietary trans fatty acids. Lancet 1994; 343: 1268–1271.
Mozaffarian D, Aro A, Willett WC . Health effects of trans-fatty acids: experimental and observational evidence. Eur J Clin Nutr 2009; 63 (Suppl 2): S5–S21.
SACN. Update on Trans Fatty Acids and Health. Position Statement by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). HMSO: London, 2007.
SACN. A Framework for evaluation of evidence that relates food and nutrients to health. http://www.sacn.gov.uk/pdfs/sacn_02_02a.pdf 2002.
Panigrahi K, Sampugna J . Effects of trans fatty acids on lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. Lipids 1993; 28: 1069–1074.
Cromer KD, Jenkins TC, Thies EJ . Replacing cis octadecenoic acid with trans isomers in media containing rat adipocytes stimulates lipolysis and inhibits glucose utilization. J Nutr 1995; 125: 2394–2399.
Guzmán M, Klein W, Gómez del Pulgar T, Geelen M . Metabolism of trans fatty acids by hepatocytes. Lipids 1999; 34: 381–386.
Privett OS, Phillips F, Shimasaki H, Nozawa T, Nickell EC . Studies of effects of trans fatty acids in the diet on lipid metabolism in essential fatty acid deficient rats. Am J Clin Nutr 1977; 30: 1009–1017.
Atal S, Zarnowski MJ, Cushman SW, Sampugna J . Comparison of body weight and adipose tissue in male C57BI/6J mice fed diets with and without trans fatty acids. Lipids 1994; 29: 319–325.
Colandre ME, Diez RS, Bernal CA . Metabolic effects of trans fatty acids on an experimental dietary model. Br J Nutr 2003; 89: 631–638.
Huang Z, Wang B, Pace RD, Yoon S . Trans fat intake lowers total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels without changing insulin sensitivity index in Wistar rats. Nutr Res 2009; 29: 206–212.
Giudetti AM, Beynen AC, Lemmens AG, Gnoni GV, Geelen MJH . Hepatic fatty acid metabolism in rats fed diets with different contents of C18:0, C18:1 cis and C18:1 trans isomers. Br J Nutr 2003; 90: 887–893.
Koppe SWP, Elias M, Moseley RH, Green RM . Trans fat feeding results in higher serum alanine aminotransferase and increased insulin resistance compared with a standard murine high-fat diet. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2009; 297: G378–G384.
Tardy A-L, Giraudet C, Rousset P, Rigaudiere J-P, Laillet B, Chalancon S et al. Effects of trans MUFA from dairy and industrial sources on muscle mitochondrial function and insulin sensitivity. J Lipid Res 2008; 49: 1445–1455.
European Food Safety Authority. Opinion of the scientific panel on the dietetic products, nutrition and allergies on a request from the Commission related to the presence of trans fatty acids in foods and the effect on human health of the consumption of trans fatty acids. EFSA J 2004; 81: 1–49.
Wang Y, Lu J, Ruth MR, Goruk SD, Reaney MJ, Glimm DR et al. Trans-11 vaccenic acid dietary supplementation induces hypolipidemic effects in JCR:LA-cp rats. J Nutr 2008; 138: 2117–2122.
Wang Y, Jacome-Sosa MM, Ruth MR, Goruk SD, Reaney MJ, Glimm DR et al. Trans-11 vaccenic acid reduces hepatic lipogenesis and chylomicron secretion in JCR:LA-cp rats. J Nutr 2009; 139: 2049–2054.
Silva APS, Guimarães DED, Mizurini DM, Maia IC, Ortiz-Costa S, Sardinha FL et al. Dietary fatty acids early in life affect lipid metabolism and adiposity in young rats. Lipids 2006; 41: 535–541.
Dorfman SE, Laurent D, Gounarides JS, Li X, Mullarkey TL, Rocheford EC et al. Metabolic implications of dietary trans-fatty acids. Obesity 2009; 17: 1200–1207.
Kavanagh K, Jones KL, Sawyer J, Kelley K, Carr JJ, Wagner JD et al. Trans fat diet induces abdominal obesity and changes in insulin sensitivity in monkeys. Obesity 2007; 15: 1675–1684.
Bortolotto JW, Reis C, Ferreira A, Costa S, Mottin CC, Souto AA et al. Higher content of trans fatty acids in abdominal visceral fat of morbidly obese individuals undergoing bariatric surgery compared to non-obese subjects. Obes Surg 2005; 15: 1265–1270.
Larque E, Gil-Campos M, Ramirez-Tortosa MC, Linde J, Canete R, Gil A . Postprandial response of trans fatty acids in prepubertal obese children. Int J Obes Relat Disord 2006; 30: 1488–1493.
Innis SM, Green TJ, Halsey TK . Variability in the trans fatty acid content of foods within a food category: implications for estimation of dietary trans fatty acid intakes. J Am Coll Nutr 1999; 18: 255–260.
van de Vijver LPL, Kardinaal AFM, Couet C, Aro A, Kafatos A, Steingrimsdottir L et al. Association between trans fatty acid intake and cardiovascular risk factors in Europe: the TRANSFAIR study. Eur J Clin Nutr 2000; 54: 126–135.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Intakes of trans fatty acids in New Zealand and Australia. http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/TFAs_intakes_2009.pdf 2009.
Health Canada. TRANSforming the Food Supply, Report of the Trans Fat Task Force. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fnan/nutrition/gras-trans-fats/tf-ge/tf-gt_rep-rap_e.html 2006.
Lemaitre RN, King IB, Patterson RE, Psaty BM, Kestin M, Heckbert SR . Assessment of frans-fatty acid intake with a food frequency questionnaire and validation with adipose tissue levels of frans-fatty acids. Am J Epidemiol 1998; 148: 1085–1093.
Merchant AT, Anand SS, Vuksan V, Jacobs R, Davis B, Teo K et al. Protein intake is inversely associated with abdominal obesity in a multi-ethnic population. J Nutr 2005; 135: 1196–1201.
Colditz GA, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, London SJ, Segal MR, Speizer FE . Patterns of weight change and their relation to diet in a cohort of healthy women. Am J Clin Nutr 1990; 51: 1100–1105.
Field AE, Willett WC, Lissner L, Colditz GA . Dietary fat and weight gain among women in the Nurses’ Health Study. Obesity 2007; 15: 967–976.
Wannamethee S, Field A, Colditz G, Rimm E . Alcohol intake and eight year weight gain in women; a prospective study. Obes Res 2004; 12: 1386–1396.
Koh-Banerjee P, Chu N-F, Spiegelman D, Rosner B, Colditz G, Willett W et al. Prospective study of the association of changes in dietary intake, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking with 9-y gain in waist circumference among 16 587 US men. Am J Clin Nutr 2003; 78: 719–727.
Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Chute CG, Litin LB, Willet WC . Validity of self-reported waist and hip circumferences in men and women. Epidemiology 1990; 1: 466–473.
Oken E, Taveras EM, Popoola FA, Rich-Edwards JW, Gillman MW . Television, walking, and diet: associations with postpartum weight retention. Am J Prev Med 2007; 32: 305–311.
DeLany JP, Windhauser MM, Champagne CM, Bray GA . Differential oxidation of individual dietary fatty acids in humans. Am J Clin Nutr 2000; 72: 905–911.
Lovejoy JC, Smith SR, Champagne CM, Most MM, Lefevre M, DeLany JP et al. Effects of diets enriched in saturated (palmitic), monounsaturated (oleic), or trans (elaidic) fatty acids on insulin sensitivity and substrate oxidation in healthy adults. Diabetes Care 2002; 25: 1283–1288.
Lefevre M, Lovejoy JC, Smith SR, DeLany JP, Champagne C, Most MM et al. Comparison of the acute response to meals enriched with cis- or trans-fatty acids on glucose and lipids in overweight individuals with differing FABP2 genotypes. Metabolis 2005; 54: 1652–1658.
Flint A, Helt B, Raben A, Trouero S, Astrupa A . Effects of different dietary fat types on postprandial appetite and energy expenditure. Obes Res 2003; 11: 1449–1455.
Das UN . Is obesity an inflammatory condition? Nutrition 2001; 17: 953–966.
Ouchi N, Ohishi M, Kihara S, Funahashi T, Nakamura T, Nagaretani H et al. Association of hypoadiponectinemia with impaired vasoreactivity. Hypertension 2003; 42: 231–234.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thompson, A., Minihane, AM. & Williams, C. Trans fatty acids and weight gain. Int J Obes 35, 315–324 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.141
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.141
- Springer Nature Limited
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
The role of the Mediterranean diet on weight loss and obesity-related diseases
Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (2020)
-
Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid status is associated with bone strength estimated by calcaneal ultrasonography in Inuit women from Nunavik (Canada): A cross-sectional study
The Journal of nutrition, health and aging (2014)
-
Trans-fatty acids, dangerous bonds for health? A background review paper of their use, consumption, health implications and regulation in France
European Journal of Nutrition (2013)
-
Intake of ruminant trans fatty acids and changes in body weight and waist circumference
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2012)
-
Erythrocyte trans-fatty acids, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged and older Chinese individuals
Diabetologia (2012)