Macular Pigment and Percentage of Body Fat

To investigate the relationship between percentage of body fat and macular pigment (MP) optical density. One hundred healthy subjects of ages between 22 and 60 years volunteered to participate in this study. MP optical density was measured psychophysically, serum lutein and zeaxanthin were quantified by HPLC, and dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Body fat was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA); body mass index (BMI) was also calculated for each subject. Clinical and personal details were recorded, with particular attention directed toward putative risk factors for AMD. There was a significant inverse relationship between the percentage of body fat and MP optical density in males (r=-0.392, P