Body fat location and cardiovascular disease risk factors in overweight female adolescents and eutrophic female adolescents with a high percentage of body fat

Abstract

AbstractBackground:Excessive body fat, mainly abdominal fat, is associated with higher cardiovascular risk. However, a fat localisation measurement that would be more indicative of risk in adolescents has not yet been established.Objective:This study was conducted in order to evaluate the correlation between body fat location measurements and cardiovascular disease risk factors in female adolescents.Materials and methods:A total of 113 girls – 38 eutrophic according to their body mass index but with a high percentage of body fat, 40 eutrophic with adequate body fat, and 35 with excessive weight – were evaluated using 15 anthropometrical measurements and 10 cardiovascular risk factors.Results:The central skinfold was the best measurement for predicting variables such as glycaemia and high-density lipoprotein; waist circumference for insulin and homeostasis model assessment; coronal diameter for total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein; sagittal abdominal diameter for triglycerides and leptin; hip circumference for blood pressure; and the central/peripheral skinfold ratio for homocysteine. The correlation between the measurements and the number of risk factors showed that waist circumference and the waist/stature ratio produced the best results.Conclusions:The results suggest that the body fat distribution in adolescents is relevant in the development of cardiovascular risk factors. Simple measurements such as waist circumference and the waist/stature ratio were the best predictors of a risk of disease and they should therefore be associated with the body mass index in clinical practice in order to identify those adolescents at higher risk.