Effects of Dietary Protein and Fat Content on Intrahepatocellular and Intramyocellular Lipids during a 6-Day Hypercaloric, High Sucrose Diet: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Normal Weight Healthy Subjects

Sucrose overfeeding increases intrahepatocellular (IHCL) and intramyocellular (IMCL) lipid concentrations in healthy subjects. We hypothesized that these effects would be modulated by diet protein/fat content. Twelve healthy men and women were studied on two occasions in a randomized, cross-over trial. On each occasion, they received a 3-day 12% protein weight maintenance diet (WM) followed by a 6-day hypercaloric high sucrose diet (150% energy requirements). On one occasion the hypercaloric diet contained 5% protein and 25% fat (low protein-high fat, LP-HF), on the other occasion it contained 20% protein and 10% fat (high protein-low fat, HP-LF). IHCL and IMCL concentrations (magnetic resonance spectroscopy) and energy expenditure (indirect calorimetry) were measured after WM, and again after HP-LF/LP-HF. IHCL increased from 25.0 +/- 3.6 after WM to 147.1 +/- 26.9 mmol/kg wet weight (ww) after LP-HF and from 30.3 +/- 7.7 to 57.8 +/- 14.8 after HP-LF (two-way ANOVA with interaction: p < 0.001 overfeeding x protein/fat content). IMCL increased from 7.1 +/- 0.6 to 8.8 +/- 0.7 mmol/kg ww after LP-HF and from 6.2 +/- 0.6 to 6.9 +/- 0.6 after HP-LF, (p < 0.002). These results indicate that liver and muscle fat deposition is enhanced when sucrose overfeeding is associated with a low protein, high fat diet compared to a high protein, low fat diet.