Abstract P361: Body Composition in Healthy Young Women within Normal Body Mass Index in a Sample of Northeastern Brazilian Population

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Excess body fat is a risk factor for some metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Overweight is usually determined by body mass index (BMI), however, there is discussion about the cut-off point for healthy percentage body fat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the segmental body composition of healthy young women in a sample of northeastern Brazilian population. METHODS: Direct Segmental Multi-frequency (20kHz; 100kHz) Bioelectrical Impedance Method (DSM-BIA) measured by eight tactile electrodes (InBody R20) was used to assess body composition and the translated and validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-Short Form) was used to assess Physical activity (PA) level in 35 young (18-26 years old) healthy volunteer women within the normal BMI range (18.5 to 24.9 Kg/m 2 ). RESULTS: The average weight and height were 58.07±5.17Kg and 1.63±0.06m; respectively. Other anthropometric measurements were as follow: BMI = 21.99±1.25Kg/m 2 ; Waist circumference (WC) = 74.69±5.02cm; Hip Circumference = 97.53±3.80cm and Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) = 0.76±0.04. None of the volunteers had WC above the cut-off point of 88cm and only 5 (14.3%) had a WHR above a suggested cut-off point for excess abdominal fat (>0.8). Percentage of body fat (%BF) was on average 33.18±4.78% (31.54-34.82, 95% confidence interval for the mean), ranging from minimal of 24.20% to 42.70%. Percentage of trunk fat averaged 33.99±4.64% (32.40-35.59, 95% CI for mean). PA of the volunteers were classified as low, moderate and high on 20%, 48.6% and 31.4% of the volunteers; respectively. There was a moderate to strong correlation of BMI and %BF (Pearson r= 0.594) even when a sub-analysis excluding the low PA volunteers was done (Pearson r=0.534). CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated that the studied population appears to have a higher average %BF measured by DSM-BIA than expected for the BMI range, considering cut-off points for overweight in a very close age group as proposed by Gallangher et al., 2000. This suggests the importance of a large study to assess and maybe establish cut-off points for overweight and obesity in this population so weight loss and PA interventions can be appropriately prescribed.