The Factors Affecting the Fat Distribution in the Abdomen of Obese Women

Kim, Yang Hyun; Ou, Sang Woo; Kim, Young Sung; Chun, Jung Han; Yang, John; Yoon, Yeong Sook; Lee, Eon Sook

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Abdominal obesity, especially, visceral obesity is thought to be a risk factor of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease. Based on previous studies visceral fat accumulation is highly related to these diseases compared to subcutaneous fat accumulation. The aim of this study was to see the relation between anthropometrical obesity indices, physical fitness, and abdominal fat distribution and to investigate the factors for abdominal fat distribution in abdomen of obese women.
METHODS
The included subjects were 158 adult women BMI>25(kg/m2), who visited the obesity clinic in a General hospital from January 2001 to December 2001. Subcutaneous fat area(SFA) and visceral fat area(VFA) and visceral fat area/subcutaneous fat area ratio (VSR) has been assessed by CT scan and demographic, lifestyle factors, nutrition intake, and physical fitness were evaluated.
RESULTS
SFA and VFA were highly related to BMI, body fat percent, waist circumference, and waist hip ratio(WHR), but VSR was negative related to body fat percent. Cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance were highly related to SFA and VFA. Flexibility was weakly related to VFA. SFA had low scale when depression, cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance had high scale. VFA had low scale when age, intake caloric value of carbohydrate were high, and, high when cardiovascular endurance, and muscular endurance had high scale and when the subjects were ex-smoker or were housewife. VSR had high scale when age and depression scale were high, but low when intake caloric value of protein was low.
CONCLUSION
SFA and VFA were highly related to anthropometrical obesity indices and physical fitness, but VSR was not. The factors affect abdominal fat distribution was thought to be that physiologic factor such as age, and occupation, smoking, state of nutrition intake, and physical fitness.