Apolipoprotein concentrations in obese subjects with upper and lower body fat mass distribution
Van Gaal, L.; Vansant, G.; Van Campenhout, C.; Lepoutre, L.; De Leeuw, I.
International Journal of Obesity 13(3): 255-263
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0307-0565 PMID: 2767878 Document Number: 339178
To assess the relation between obesity and serum lipids, a homogeneous group of men and premenopausal women was assessed for body mass index, body fat distribution reflected by the waist:hip ratio (WHR), serum lipid indices and apolipoproteins. Body fat distribution was classified as abdominal or gluteal-femoral type using a cut-off point of WHR of 1.00 for men. In women the cut-off value was considered as 0.80 and also as 0.85. Tertiles for WHR were then created to show a graded relation between WHR and lipoprotein fraction. WHR was an important determinant for most atherosclerosis-related lipids and apoproteins: in men and women WHR was correlated with apolipoprotein B. Using multiple regression analysis, in women WHR seems to be the most important dependent variable, but body mass index did not significantly contribute to the variance. In men, besides WHR, age was the most significant variable, although age distribution was similar in men and women. Using tertiles of WHR, there was a graded relation with most lipids and lipoproteins; this suggests that in women WHR 0.80 is the most accurate cut-off value for abdominal obesity. This study demonstrates that both obese men and women with an abdominal fat mass distribution show a lipid and apoprotein profile that is less favourable than that in gluteal-femoral obese subjects when assessing the risk of coronary artery disease.