title: Body composition analyses in normal weight obese women.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify new indexes of body composition that characterize the normal weight obese (NWO) women. We measured body composition by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) by indirect calorimetry in a cohort of seventy-five healthy Italian women, subdivided into three groups (nonobese/controls, NWO, preobese-obese women). Despite a normal body mass index (BMI), the NWO women have a higher body fat mass percentage (FAT %) (38.99 +/- 6.03) associated to a significant (p = 0.02) lower amount of lean mass of legs (12.24 +/- 1.31) and lean mass of left leg (6.07 +/- 0.64) with respect to the control group. The NWO group showed a significant (p = 0.043) lower RMR (1201.25 +/- 349.02) in comparison with nonobese and preobese-obese women. To classify NWO individuals among general population, we identified three significant body composition indexes: abdominal index, leg index and trunk index. The NWO women showed significant increased value in the three indexes (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that, despite a normal BMI, the NWO women displayed a cluster of anthropometric characteristics (body fat mass percentage, leg indexes) not different to obese women ones. An appropriate diet-therapy and physical activity may be protecting NWO individuals from diabetes and cardiovascular diseases associated to preobese-obese women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Division of Human Nutrition, University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Renzo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Del Gobbo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bigioni
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Premrov
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cianci
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Lorenzo
mesh_terms: D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D001823:Body Composition; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000378:metabolism; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide