Limb fat to trunk fat ratio in elderly persons is a strong determinant of insulin resistance and adiponectin levels.

Background: Similar to lipodystrophy syndromes, aging results in increased visceral adiposity with loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue in the extremities. The hypothesis of this study is that the distribution of limb fat to trunk fat (LF/TF) ratio in elderly persons has a stronger correlation than trunk fat alone to insulin resistance and adiponectin levels.

Methods: Thirty-eight elderly participants were divided into an insulin-resistant (IR) group and an insulin-sensitive (IS) group.