Abstract
Objectives To determine the association of per cent total body fat (TBF), intra-abdominal fat (IAF) mass and subcutaneous abdominal fat with cardiovascular risk factors in middle age obese Indians.
Design Cross-sectional study.
Setting Hydrostatic Laboratory, Department of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy, Guru Nanak Dev University, India. Participants: 51 subjects aged 30-55 years with a body mass index value 23 and above.
Methodology In all the participants, TBF was estimated by underwater weighing machine and IAF and subcutaneous fat were measured by ultrasonography. Lipid profile was determined by a semiautomated analyser. Main outcome measures were: IAF, per cent body fat to TBF ratio, lipid profile and risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Results IAF was found to be significantly associated with lipid variables (95% CI, p<0.01) and risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (95% CI, p <= 0.05) in both male and female subjects. TBF and subcutaneous fat thickness showed no significant results (95% CI, p>0.05) with either lipid variables or risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (tables 1 and 2). IAF mass showed significant association with age (95% CI, p<0.01) and significant negative association with physical activity (95% CI, p<0.05) in male subjects (tables 3 and 4).
Conclusion An ultrasonic measurement of IAF is a better predictor of the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases in middle aged Indian population. In male subjects, physical activity of 5 or more days a week showed lesser amount of IAF as compared with those with physical activity <5 days a week.