Co‐morbidities associated with obesity and the role of omega‐3 fatty acid intake in free‐living healthy weight, overweight and obese college students

The purpose of this research was to assess the relationship of co‐morbidities related to obesity and omega‐3 PUFA dietary habits in 56 free‐living college students at East Carolina University. Following a college life survey and an omega‐3 food frequency questionnaire, a venous blood sample was obtained after a 12 hour fast and analyzed for blood lipid parameters; IL‐6 and ghrelin. Individuals were separated into three categories (healthy weight, overweight, and obese) based on body mass index (BMI) values of <25, 25–30, and >30 kg/m 2 , respectively. VLDL cholesterol and CVD risk (total cholesterol:HDL ratio) showed a significant correlation (P≤0.05) in the overweight and obese groups while LDL and CVD risk demonstrated a relationship in the healthy weight subjects. Individuals that were obese tended to have 10% higher plasma omega‐3 PUFA levels than individuals of healthy weight and had over 30% higher total plasma omega‐3 PUFA levels than overweight individuals. Other important correlations were found between ghrelin and waist circumference in the healthy weight (P≤0.01) and obese (P≤0.05) subjects that were not evident in the overweight subjects. Further, while IL‐6 demonstrated a correlation with weight in the overweight (P≤0.038) and obese (P≤0.029), this was not evident in those of healthy weight.