Randomised trial · Molecular nutrition & food research · 2021Abstract only

Dextrose meal and adiponectin response in older women

What it found

In older women, adiponectin rose after a dextrose drink but fell after a high-fat meal.

Younger women showed no change after either meal.

What they found

Studies in people

Adiponectin after meals

In younger women, adiponectin stayed stable after both test meals. In older women, it rose after dextrose and fell after the high-fat meal.

Age group differences

The differences between older and younger women were partly explained by metabolic measures and oxidative stress.

Links with other markers

After dextrose, adiponectin was positively linked with malondialdehyde and inversely linked with interleukin-6. It was also negatively linked with metabolic measures after both meals.

FGF21 and adiponectin

In older women, higher FGF21 levels after the meal were linked with a higher adiponectin response.

What the authors conclude

“Adiponectin response is associated with type of dietary challenge, age, and FGF21 response.”
Herpich C, Kochlik B, Haß U, Weber D, Grune T, Norman K, 2021

Also in their conclusions

  • They conclude that the adiponectin response is associated with the type of dietary challenge, age, and FGF21 response.
  • They state that age-group differences are partly attributable to metabolic parameters and oxidative stress.

How it was done

Higher adiponectin levels have been linked with death in older age, and little is known about how adiponectin changes after meals in older adults.

Older women (n = 20) and younger women (n = 22) were randomly given a dextrose or high-fat dietary challenge. Adiponectin and FGF21 were measured before and 60, 120 and 240 minutes after eating.

What it can’t tell you

  • We summarised it from the abstract only.
  • This trial was small, with 20 older and 22 younger women, so the results may not apply to all people.
  • It only looked at one dextrose drink and one high-fat meal, so it cannot show what happens with usual eating over time.

The paper

Title
Altered Adiponectin Response in Older Women Following Dextrose and High-Fat Dietary Challenges
Type
Randomised controlled trial
Evidence
Studies in people
Summarised from
Abstract only
Cite
Herpich C, Kochlik B, Haß U, Weber D, Grune T, Norman K (2021). Altered Adiponectin Response in Older Women Following Dextrose and High-Fat Dietary Challenges. Molecular nutrition & food research. doi:10.1002/mnfr.202100487PubMed 34288404DOI

Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error