title: Intra-abdominal adipose tissue deposition and parity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the relationship between body composition/fat distribution and parity after adjusting for potential confounders: age, smoking, and physical activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 170 Caucasian women between the ages of 18 and 76 years, who were non-smokers with no cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic, or endocrine disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Physical activity assessment (Baecke Physical Activity Questionnaire), anthropometric measures, and body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, computed tomography).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although percent body fat was related to parity (r=0.26, P<0.01), after adjusting for age, physical activity index, and smoking, the parity-percent body fat relationship was no longer significant. Multiple regression analysis for modeling intra-abdominal adipose tissue demonstrated that parity and intra-abdominal adipose tissue were significantly related after adjusting for percent body fat, physical activity index, and smoking (partial r=0.18, P=0.02, unstandardized beta=5.22+/-2.26, intercept=-37.32+/-24.63).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that intra-abdominal adipose tissue increases with increasing parity, even after adjusting for potential confounders: age, percent body fat, physical activity, and smoking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Studies and Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1250, USA. blaudeau@uab.edu
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Blaudeau
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sirikul
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000379:methods; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods; D001824:Body Constitution / Q000502:physiology; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed