Abstract
IntroductionThere is a lack of information about fitness and other health indicators in women from countries such as Morocco. This study aims to explore the association of weight status with physical and mental health in Moroccan perimenopausal women.Methods151 women (45-65 years) from the North of Morocco were analyzed by standardized field-based fitness tests to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, flexibility, agility and balance. Quality of life was assessed by means of the Short-Form-36 Health Survey. Resting heart rate, blood pressure and plasma fasting glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were also measured.ResultsBlood pressure (P=0.001), plasma triglycerides (P=0.041) and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (P<0.001) increased as weight status increased. Levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, upper-body flexibility (both, P<0.001), static balance (P<0.05) and dynamic balance (P<0.01) decreased as weight status increased. Pairwise comparisons showed differences mainly between normal-weight and overweight vs. obese groups. No differences between groups were observed on quality of life.ConclusionCardiovascular and lipid profile and fitness, important indicators of cardiovascular disease risk, worsened as weight status increased, whereas quality of life appears to be independent of weight status. Exercise and nutritional programs focus on weight management may be advisable in this under studied population.
Highlights
There is a lack of information about fitness and other health indicators in women from countries such as Morocco
Pairwise analysis showed differences between the normal-weight compared to the obese group (p=0.004) and the overweight compared to the obese group (p=0.019)
No differences between groups were observed on resting heart rate and plasma fasting glucose, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and LDLcholesterol, whereas total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol index was slightly higher as weight status increased (p=0.054)
Summary
This study aims to explore the association of weight status with physical and mental health in Moroccan perimenopausal women. Regarding the association between BMI and quality of life (QoL) the findings are less clear, and studies on relationships between BMI and different measurements of mental ill-health and QoL have reported contradictory results [6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Menopause is frequently associated with weight gain and a shift in body-fat accumulation from the hips and the thighs to the trunk This android obesity can contribute to a reduction in insulin sensitivity and development of dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes [13]. Overweight and obesity have increased considerably in the last decades among this population, especially in women, and obesity has become one of the main public health problems in the country [14, 16]
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