Background: Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) have been revealed to be closely related to insulin resistance and obesity. This study aimed to investigate if BCAA levels at baseline are related to an improvement in insulin resistance after implementing a weight loss program intervention.
Methods: Stored blood samples from participants in previous trials were used for BCAA evaluation. Linear regression was used to analyze the relationship between baseline amino acid levels and changes in the insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) and blood glucose.
Results: A total of 48 participants were enrolled. After the intervention, the body weight (78.29± 12.68 vs 72.06 ± 13.30 kg, p=0.020), fasting glucose (4.76 ± 0.43 vs 4.48 ± 0.39 mmol/L, p=0.001), fasting insulin (18.41± 13.58 vs 12.87± 10.88, p=0.028), and HOMA-IR (4.01± 3.39 vs 2.62± 2.18, p=0.018) were improved significantly. BCAA levels were related to the improvement in HOMA-IR (β=− 0.006, p=0.039), and valine was found to be the most closely related to the improvement in HOMA-IR (β=− 0.013, p=0.017).
Conclusion: The baseline BCAA is related to the improvement in insulin resistance among participants after a weight loss intervention.
Keywords: obesity, branched chain amino acid, weight loss, insulin resistance