The present study was designed to investigate whether the beta-adrenergically mediated blood flow response of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (per unit adipose tissue weight) was altered in obesity and to study the effect of weight reduction on this response. Body composition (underwater weighing) and fat blood flow were determined in a group of lean (n = 9; % body fat, 11.6 +/- 3.9) and obese (n = 9; % body fat, 28.3 +/- 1.8) subjects. In seven obese subjects, measurements were also performed after a 4-week period of weight reduction induced by a very-low calorie diet (% body fat after diet 23.4 +/- 3.3). After an overnight fast, abdominal subcutaneous fat blood flow was determined by the 133xenon washout technique during a 30-minute period of supine rest and during 30-minute periods of infusion of the beta-agonist isoprenaline (ISO) with and without simultaneous infusion of the beta 1-blocker atenolol (AT). Basal abdominal fat blood flow was significantly higher in lean as compared with obese subjects, whereas weight reduction significantly increased basal fat blood flow (obese v reduced-obese, P < .05). There was a significant increase in abdominal fat blood flow as a result of ISO infusion in lean and obese subjects before and after weight reduction. During ISO+AT infusion, abdominal fat blood flow was still significantly increased as compared with control values in lean and obese subjects. The increase in blood flow during ISO was significantly higher in lean subjects than in obese subjects, whereas the ISO+AT-induced blood flow response was comparable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)