Development of abdominal fat and incipient metabolic syndrome in young healthy men exposed to long-term stress Stefan Branth a, *, Gunnar Ronquist b , Mats Stridsberg b , Leif Hambraeus a,c , Erik Kindgren a , Roger Olsson a , David Carlander b , Bengt Arnetz d a Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Nutrition, University of Uppsala, University Hospital of Uppsala, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden b Department of Medical Sciences, Clinical Chemistry, University Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden c Unit for Preventive Nutrition, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, SE-141 57 Huddinge, Sweden d Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, University of Uppsala, University Hospital of Uppsala, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden Received 1 September 2005; received in revised form 27 February 2006; accepted 14 March 2006 KEYWORDS Blood pressure; Metabolic syndrome; Obesity; Nutrition; Stress Summary Background and aim: The sympathetic nervous system may be involved in the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and metabolic cardiovascular syndrome in young men. The aim was to study the effects of long-term stress on different fea- tures of the metabolic syndrome (MES) in formerly non-obese healthy young males during 5 months of defined conditions. Methods and results: Sixteen healthy male sailors (mean age 36.5 (SD) 7 years) participating in a sailing race around the world were recruited for the study. Inves- tigations were done before the start and at stopovers after finishing laps 1, 2 and 4 (1, 2½ and 5 months, respectively). Anthropometric and blood pressure data as well as biochemical data associated with MES were substantiated. Food intake and ex- ercise were chartered and largely controlled. A mean weight loss of 4.5  2 kg (P < 0.005), comprising both fat and lean body mass, was recorded during the first lap. Subsequently after 5 months, a weight gain, mainly consisting of 1.2  1.1 kg body fat ( P < 0.05), took place, concomitantly with a protein mass drop of 0.6  1.1 kg (P < 0.05). The body fat gain accumulated on the abdominal region. Elevated blood levels of HbA1c, insulin and the triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ46 18 611 0000; fax: þ46 18 552 562. E-mail address: stefan.branth@medsci.uu.se (S. Branth). 0939-4753/$ - see front matter ª 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2006.03.001 Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases (2007) 17, 427e435 www.elsevier.com/locate/nmcd