Relation between body mass index and resting metabolic rate, cardiorespiratory fitness and insulin sensitivity in Sasang typology for young male persons: An observational study

Body composition and personality traits in so-Yang type males

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the present study was to examine the body composition of So-Yang type males according to Sasang constitutional medicine, which is popular in Korea. Different Sasang constitutional types are associated with different muscle distributions, body shapes, and disease susceptibilities. We used the Sasang Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) as a measure of the temperament of each Sasang type.

METHODS

In total, 953 subjects aged over 20 years were recruited in Korea. We collected anthropometric parameters and bioimpedence information from the subjects and administered the SPQ. A logistic regression was conducted to calculate propensity scores.

RESULTS

The percentage of skeletal muscle mass in So-Yang (SY) and non-So-Yang (non-SY) males was 45.8 ± 2.7 and 44.2 ± 3.3, respectively, before matching and 45.8 ± 2.6 and 44.9 ± 3.0, respectively, after propensity score matching. The extracellular water (ECW)/intracellular water (ICW) and extracellular water (ECW)/total body water (TBW) ratios and SPQ scores were significantly different between the SY and non-SY types.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggested that the SY type may be significantly and independently associated with body composition and could be associated with personality.

Body temperature regulation: Sasang typology-based perspective

Global warming induces a dramatic elevation of heat-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Individual variation of heat stress vulnerability depends on various factors such as age, gender, living area and conditions, health status, and individual innate characteristics. Sasang typology is a unique form of Korean traditional medicine, which is based on the hypothesis that constitution-specific traits of an individual determine the particular distinctive tendency in various aspects, including responses to the external environment. Recent scientific evidence shows that Sasang types differ in body composition, metabolic profile, susceptibility to certain disease patterns, and perspiration. This review aims to interpret these findings under the context of heat balance consisting of heat production (H_prod), heat loss (H_loss), and heat load (H_load). Based on the published data, at a given body mass, the TaeEum type tended to have a lower H_prod at rest and at the exhaustion state, which may indicate the lower metabolic efficiency of this type. Meanwhile, the surface-to-mass ratio and heat capacity of the TaeEum type appear to be lower, implying a lower heat dissipation capacity and heat storage tolerance. Thus, because of these characteristics, the TaeEum type seems to be more vulnerable to heat stress than the other constitutions. Differences in temperature regulation across constitutional types should be taken into account in daily physical activity, health management, and medical research.

Thermoregulatory Responses to Graded Exercise Differ among Sasang Types

We compared sweat rate and variables such as workload (W e ), metabolic heat production (H prod), and temperature increment load (T inc) across Sasang types. 304 apparently healthy participants aged 20-49 years with their Sasang type determined were enrolled. Local sweat rates on the chest (LSRchest) and back (LSRback) were measured using a perspiration meter during a maximum treadmill exercise test. Oxygen uptake was measured continuously using a breath-by-breath mode indirect calorimeter. The TaeEum (TE) type had a larger body size, a higher percent body fat, and a lower body area surface area (BSA) to body mass compared with the other Sasang types, particularly the SoEum (SE) type. The TE type tended to have a shorter exercise time to exhaustion and lower maximal oxygen uptake (mL·kg(-1)·min(-1)) than the other types. LSRchest in TE types was greater than that of the SE and SoYang (SY) types in men, whereas LSRback was higher in the TE type than that of the other types in women. After normalizing LSR for W e , H prod, T inc, and BSA, this tendency still remained. Our findings suggest that the thermoregulatory response to graded exercise may differ across Sasang types such that the TE type was the most susceptible to heat stress.

Recent progress and prospects in Sasang constitutional medicine: a traditional type of physiome-based treatment

The history of the constitution perspective in medical care dates back thousands of years and extends from the East to the West. Among the various forms of constitutional medicine, Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM) is a holistic, tailored medical approach that is based on a well-structured theoretical system that includes physiopathological disciplines. Scientific evidence has demonstrated that SCM typology has a constitution-specific basis in anthropometrics, physiological characteristics, disease vulnerability, and genetic origins. Furthermore, the recent rise of systems biology, which requires whole body modeling, uses a state-of-the-art approach in interpreting the holistic spirit of Oriental medicine. This article aims to provide an overview of the recent achievements in SCM research and to discuss how the concept of balance in SCM may contribute to the development of large scale modeling in systems biology.

Re-interpretation of traditional Asian medicine with constitutional perspective

There has been a rapid increase in tailored medicine that emphasizes the complex inter-individual interactions, and this increase has paralleled recent significant achievements in genomics and Systems Biology. However, attempts to create a virtual human have been limited to low-levels of organization, such as gene-protein networks, due to the lack of systematic concepts at the higher levels of organisms (organ, individual, and environment). Constitutional perspective of various forms of traditional Asian medicine through the ancient, middle, and modern eras, particularly the holistic approach of Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM), may provide a novel framework for creating tailored medicine. This article aims to review the theoretical development of traditional Chinese medicine and the initiation of SCM in addition to summarizing current evidence on the genetic basis, bio-physiological features, and risk of disease of different SCM phenotypes. We also suggest that the patho-physiological principle and scientific evidence underlying SCM, particularly for the TaeEum type, can be effective in dealing with obesity-linked disease, which is a predominant disease in today's society.