Abstract
Pulmonary dysfunction in obese individuals may be associated with respiratory muscle impairment, and may be influenced by predominance of upper-body fat distribution. The objective of this study was to evaluate the strength of respiratory muscles in obese individuals and to analyze the influence of adipose tissue distribution. Cross-sectional study on the preoperative period prior to bariatric surgery. Research developed within the Postgraduate General Surgery Program, Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Respiratory muscle strength was quantified by measuring maximum inspiratory and expiratory pressures (PImax and PEmax) in obese candidates for bariatric surgery. Adipose tissue distribution was assessed using the waist-hip circumference ratio (WHR). PImax, PEmax and WHR were compared with normal reference values and also in groups with different body mass index (BMI). We evaluated 23 men and 76 women. All underwent PImax evaluation and 86 underwent PEmax. The mean BMI was 44.42 kg/m2. PImax and PEmax were within normal values; WHR showed that there was predominance of upper-body fat distribution; and there were no correlations among the variables studied. There was no significant variance among the variables PImax, PEmax and WHR when the study population was divided into groups with different BMI. In the obese population studied, the excess weight did not result in impairment of respiratory muscle strength, and their predominant upper-body fat distribution also did not influence respiratory muscle strength.
Highlights
Obesity is a complex, multifactorial disease that develops from an interaction of genetic, metabolic, social, cultural and behavioral factors
PImax and PEmax were within normal values; waisthip circumference ratio (WHR) showed that there was predominance of upper-body fat distribution; and there were no correlations among the variables studied
There was no significant variance among the variables PImax, PEmax and WHR when the study population was divided into groups with different body mass index (BMI)
Summary
Multifactorial disease that develops from an interaction of genetic, metabolic, social, cultural and behavioral factors. It has been estimated that the global epidemic of overweight and obesity affects 1.7 billion people.[2] Brazil is one of the South American countries with more complete national research on nutrition and health, and these studies began in the 1970s. The results from IBGE’s (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística) Family Budget Survey (2002-2003), in partnership with the Brazilian Ministry of Health, showed that, out of a total of 95.5 million Brazilians aged 20 years or over, there were 3.8 million underweight individuals (4.0%) and 38.8 million overweight individuals (40.6%), of whom 10.5 million were considered to be obese.[3]. Obesity still presents a high rate of unsuccessful treatment by means of medications or diets, but generally responds to surgical treatment (bariatric surgery).[4] This disease is associated with increased prevalence of comorbid conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, systemic arterial hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary dysfunction.[5,6]
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