Differences in the body composition and biochemistry in women grouped as normal-weight, overweight and obese according to body mass index and their relation with cardiometabolic risk

Abstract

Morbidity of obesity-related diseases tends to increase due to a rise in the body mass index (BMI). We aimed to investigate how the body composition and biochemical parameters change while BMI increases in adult women were categorized as so: as normal weight, overweight and obese. Our objectives are to study the effects of those changes in the development of metabolic disturbances and to find out which parameters are the most sensitive to predict cardiometabolic risks. Three hundred and twenty two records of adult women (mean age: 38.62±12.71 year) who admitted to our unit concerning about losing or preserving their weights, were analyzed in the study. All patients had undergone anthropometric measurements and body composition analyses as well as some biochemical tests. Body composition analyses were performed by means of the Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzer (BIA). Increase in BMI significantly increased the body fat, blood sugar, insulin, triglyceride and uric acid levels. BMI and circumference of the waist were significantly and negatively correlated with the ratio of body water and lean mass/fat mass. However they were positively correlated with the ratio of fat mass and basal metabolism. Furthermore, it was also found that BMI and circumference of the waist were significantly and positively correlated with level of fasting blood sugar, insulin, triglyceride, homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), uric acid and fibrinogen levels, and negatively correlated with high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level. In multiple regression analyses, circumference of waist measurements was significantly correlated with insulin, triglyseride and HDL, whereas the correlation between BMI and these parameters was not found significant. Total body fat mass (as %) showed significant correlation only with HDL-C level. It could be said that obesity which is a disorder that causes many health complications and affects the quality of life in the short and long term could be prevented or cured by keeping negative environmental conditions under control. According to our results, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) measurement was thought to be more related for metabolic and cardiovascular disorders rather than BMI. We also propose to test fasting blood glucose, insulin, triglyceride, HDL, fibrinogen, homocystein (HOM) levels along with VAT measurements to predict more truly about not only global cardiometabolic risk but also dementia in later life. © 2009 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.