International journal of obesity : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
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Multicenter Study
Longitudinal association of telomere length and obesity indices in an intervention study with a Mediterranean diet: the PREDIMED-NAVARRA trial.
Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures that protect the ends of eukaryote chromosomes. Shorter telomere length (TL) is associated with some age-related human disorders, but its relationship with obesity or adiposity parameters remains unclear. ⋯ Our research suggests that TL is inversely associated with changes in obesity parameters. The assessment of TL can provide further insights for biological pathways leading to adiposity. We show for the first time an improvement of obesity indices when an increase in TL is observed after a 5-year Mediterranean diet intervention.