Evidence suggests that obesity leads to chronic degenerative disease. The excess fat accumulated during the course of developing obesity is thought to promote oxidative stress and inflammation. The resultant free radicals could damage the endothelium of arteries causing the development of atherosclerosis. Because free radicals are scavenged by antioxidants such as vitamin C, it might be expected that obese subjects had lower plasma levels of antioxidants than non-obese subjects. Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition1 measured the fat distribution and plasma ascorbic acid levels of nearly 20,000 healthy men and women aged 45-79 years. The research showed that the waist to hip ratio was inversely related to plasma ascorbic acid concentration in men and women independent of body mass index, age, vitamin supplement use, cigarette smoking and socioeconomic group.
These results are interesting, but it is important to be cautious when interpreting them. It is possible that individuals with more body fat possess higher levels of oxidative stress and as a result their antioxidant levels fall as free radicals are scavenged at an accelerated rate. Evidence does indicate that obesity may result in chronic inflammation (here), which would explain the lower levels of plasma ascorbic acid. However, it is also possible that other reason can explain these findings. Ascorbic acid is present in many fruits and vegetables and it may be that higher levels of ascorbic acid are linked to a healthier diet and lifestyle that may decrease the waist to hip ratio in those individuals. High levels of ascorbic acid in the diet for example are likely to be associated with diets with higher levels of fibre, phytonutrients and lower levels of sugar.
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