The effects of fatness and fat distribution on respiratory functions

Background: Inverse relationships between respiratory function and indices of obesity and fat distribution have been reported, but it remains unclear which measure of obesity shows the strongest relationship with lung function.

Aim: The study assessed the effect of fatness and fat distribution on respiratory function.

Subjects and methods: A sample of 423 males and 509 females aged 40–50 years were examined in the Silesian Centre for Preventive Medicine, DOLMED, in Wroc?aw in 1995. The strength of influence of height, body mass index (BMI), wait-to-hip ratio (WHR) and abdominal and subscapular skinfolds upon forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in a 1-s expiration (FEV₁) was assessed by multiple regression analysis.

Results: In males, FVC was strongly positively associated with height and BMI, but negatively associated with subscapular and abdominal skinfolds, WHR, and smoking. FEV₁ showed a positive relationship with height, BMI and WHR. In females, both FVC and FEV₁ showed significant positive associations with height, negative ones with subscapular skinfold, and no association with either WHR or abdominal skinfold. In males, respiratory function is affected to a similar extent by fat in the abdominal region and by fatness of the chest. In females, fatness of the thorax has the strongest relationship with respiratory function.

Conclusion: Fatness tends to impair respiratory function in both sexes but these effects show a different pattern in males and females. In males, respiratory functions are significantly, and to a similar extant, affected by fatness in the abdominal region, both subcutaneous and visceral, and by fatness on the chest. In females, it is primarily subcutaneous fat on the upper thorax that affects respiratory functions, while visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fatness play little or no role.     

Abdominal obesity has the highest impact on metabolic profile in an overweight African population

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the association between different anthropometric parameters and metabolic profile in an overweight, adult, black Kenyan population.

Methods: An opportunity sample of 245 overweight adult Kenyans (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m²) was analysed. A score of metabolic profile (metabolic Z-score) was constructed on the basis of levels of plasma lipids, blood pressure, blood glucose and serum insulin. Linear regressions using metabolic Z-score as outcome and six anthropometric variables (waist circumference (WC), hip circumference, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue, arm fat area and arm muscle area) separately as independent variables were carried out.

Results: Mean age of study participants was 42.1 years (SD = 9.6) and 26.5% of the participants were men. The median BMI was 28.6 kg/m² (Q1 = 26.3; Q3 = 31.3). Of the six anthropometric variables tested, WC and VAT thickness had the strongest negative association with the metabolic profile (β = 0.17 (0.09; 0.24) and 0.15 (0.08; 0.23), respectively).

Conclusions: WC and VAT thickness were the strongest anthropometric predictors for the metabolic profile in overweight adult Kenyans. WC is useful in clinical practice for the diagnosis of metabolically unhealthy fat accumulation in an African setting.     

云南省纳西、普米、傈僳族肥胖状况分析及受试者工作特征曲线对高血压的预警作用

目的 探讨云南省丽江市纳西、普米、傈僳族的肥胖流行状况和高血压的患病情况,并计算身体质量指数（BMI）、腰围、内脏脂肪等级的临界点来预警高血压,为高血压防治工作提供参考。方法 选取18～90岁纳西、普米、傈僳族1471名,采用活体测量的方法对其身体形态指标进行测量,并测量血压,使用 Logistic 回归分析肥胖对高血压的影响,以BMI、腰围、内脏脂肪等级绘制各民族受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线。使用IBM SPSS 24.0统计学软件对数据进行处理。结果 688名纳西族中肥胖108人（15.7%）,腹型肥胖385人（56%）,内脏脂肪超标197人（28.5%）;513名普米族中肥胖46人（9%）,腹型肥胖279人（54.4%）,内脏脂肪超标113人（22%）;270名傈僳族中肥胖率24人（8.9%）,腹型肥胖121人（44.8%）,内脏脂肪超标54人（20%）。3个民族肥胖、腹型肥胖、内脏脂肪超标的总体分布差异均存在统计学意义（χ2=15.724、10.007、10.886,P<0.05）。纳西族肥胖、腹型肥胖、内脏脂肪超标率最高（P<0.05）。高血压患病601人（40.9%）,腹型肥胖和内脏脂肪超标是高血压的危险因素（OR=0.676, 0.456,P<0.05）。可选用BMI、腰围、内脏脂肪等级预警高血压（AUC >0.5, P<0.05）。结论 纳西族、普米族和傈僳族的肥胖率等处于较高水平,可通过监测腰围和BMI来预防高血压的发病并对提早防治高血压具有重要意义。     

Anthropometric and body composition indicators of Bahraini adolescents

BACKGROUND: Childhood and adolescent obesity tends to extend into adulthood and predisposes the individual to some chronic diseases in later life. Body composition is a good indicator for assessing obesity and nutritional status of people. AIM: To determine the anthropometric and body composition characteristics of Bahraini adolescents and to compare these measurements with previously published data on the same age group. SUBJECTS OF METHODS: Cross-sectional data on 506 Bahraini adolescents (249 boys and 257 girls) aged 12-17 years were collected in 2000. The sample was selected from intermediate and secondary schools using a multistage stratified sampling procedure. Anthropometric measurements, including weight, height, mid upper arm circumference, waist and hip circumference, triceps, subscapular and medial calf skinfold thickness, were performed on the adolescents. Body mass index (BMI), percent body fat, arm muscle circumference (AMC), arm muscle area (AMA), arm fat area (AFA), waist/hip ratio (WHR), and subscapular/triceps skinfold ratio (STR) were also calculated. RESULTS: A sexual dimorphism that appears to be related to differential changes in body composition during puberty was observed. The findings showed that mean BMI, skinfold thickness and percent body fat were all higher than those reported in earlier studies on Bahraini adolescents of corresponding age range, indicating an increase in fat accumulation among the adolescent population. Bahraini adolescents were found to be shorter and of similar weight or even heavier than their Western counterparts, indicating a greater trend of obesity among Bahraini adolescents. CONCLUSION: A trend of greater obesity appears to have occurred in the Bahraini adolescents during the period between 1986 and 2000. These findings have important public health implications given recent evidence linking childhood and adolescent obesity to increased risk of obesity and morbidity in adulthood. Therefore, programmes to prevent the development of obesity in children and adolescents should be given a high priority.     

Urban–rural contrasts in the growth status of school children in Oaxaca,Mexico

Objectives:?The growth status of school children resident in an urban colonia and in a rural indigenous community in Oaxaca, southern Mexico, was considered in the context of two objectives, current status and the magnitude of urban–rural differences over a span of about 30 years. Both communities were initially surveyed in 1968 and 1972.

Materials and methods:?Height, body mass, segment lengths, skeletal breadths, limb circumferences, and subcutaneous fatness were taken on 361 rural (177 boys, 184 girls) and 339 urban (173 boys, 166 girls) school children, aged 6–13 years. Additional variables were derived.

Results:?Height and body mass were significantly greater in urban compared with rural children. Sitting height, estimated leg length and skeletal breadths on the trunk were also larger in urban than in rural school children, but only the difference in skeletal breadths was significant after age and body size were statistically controlled. Urban and rural children did not consistently differ in skeletal breadths on the extremities and limb circumferences. Subcutaneous fatness was more variable. After controlling for age and body size, rural girls had thicker skinfolds. The magnitude of the urban–rural difference in boys in 2000 was greater for body mass, BMI and triceps skinfold, and reduced for height, sitting height, leg length, and arm and estimated arm muscle circumferences compared with 1970. The magnitude of the urban–rural difference in girls was greater in 2000 than 30 years earlier for body mass, height, sitting height, leg length and BMI. Urban–rural differences for arm and arm muscle circumferences and the triceps skinfold were slightly smaller over the interval.

Conclusions:?Children resident in an urban colonia were taller and heavier than children resident in a rural indigenous community. After controlling for age and body size, urban–rural differences in skeletal breadths and limb circumferences were reduced or eliminated, but skinfold thicknesses were greater in rural girls. The magnitude of urban–rural differences in body size has decreased over approximately 30 years in boys, but has increased in girls.     

Trends in adiposity in Brazilian 7–10-year-old schoolchildren: evidence for increasing overweight but not obesity between 2002 and 2007

Background: The negative health consequences of childhood overweight/obesity (OW/OB) are well known. Therefore, an accurate monitoring of the OW/OB prevalence is essential. Anthropometry is the most practical and cost-effective method for nutritional status evaluation.

Aim: To describe trends in the nutritional status among 7–10-year-old children by investigating changes in the prevalence of stunting, thinness, overweight, obesity, risk and excess abdominal adiposity, and to study changes in height-for-age, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC).

Subjects and methods: A school-based sample of 7–10-year-old children participated in two cross-sectional studies in 2002 (n?=?2936) and 2007 (n?=?1232) in Florianopolis, southern Brazil. Prevalence of stunting, risk and excess abdominal adiposity and changes in the distribution of height-for-age, BMI-for-age, WC-for-age z-scores were evaluated. Three BMI-based references were used to define the prevalence of thinness, overweight and obesity.

Results: Between 2002–2007, the prevalence of stunting, thinness, obesity and excess abdominal adiposity remained stable, whereas overweight (including obesity) increased 10–23% in boys and 18–21% in girls, depending on the BMI reference used. The risk of abdominal adiposity increased in boys, but not in girls. No significant change was observed in mean height, BMI, WC-for-age z-scores.

Conclusions: This study identified a potential levelling off in the prevalence of obesity and excess abdominal adiposity, but a continuing increase in the prevalence of overweight.     

Anthropometric measures and their association with risk factors for cardio-metabolic diseases in Kenyan adults

Background: The prevalence of cardio-metabolic diseases (CMD) is drastically increasing worldwide. Anthropometric measures of fat accumulation are correlated with CMD and Metabolic Syndrome (MS), but few studies have addressed this association in sub-Saharan African populations.

Aim: To investigate the association between anthropometric features, MS and other CMD risk factors in a population from Kenya.

Subjects and methods: In this cross-sectional study including 1405 Kenyans, anthropometric measurements including visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) were carried out. Fasting blood glucose and standard oral glucose tolerance test, fasting serum insulin and plasma lipids were analysed. Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance was calculated. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured.

Results: CMD risk factors and MS were associated with all anthropometric features, except for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (p?<?0.05). The strongest association between MS and anthropometrics was seen with SAT (β?=?1.45?±?0.32 in men and 0.88?±?0.14 in women, both p?<?0.05).

Conclusions: Anthropometric measures, especially features of central obesity such as VAT and SAT, are relevant indicators of cardio-metabolic health in Kenyan populations. SAT is the strongest predictor of MS. These results highlight the need for further research on the pathological implication of VAT and SAT, in order to understand patterns of fat distribution and cardio-metabolic health among different ethnic groups.     

Secular change in the growth status of urban and rural schoolchildren aged 6–13 years in Oaxaca,southern Mexico

Background: Populations in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico are at high risk for malnutrition and marginalization.

Aim: The study compared secular changes in the growth status of urban and rural schoolchildren in the Valley of Oaxaca between the 1970s and 2000.

Subjects and methods: Cross-sectional surveys of boys and girls aged 6–13 years (n = 1472) were carried out in an urban colonia populares in 1972 and 2000 and a rural indigenous community in 1978 and 2000. Height, sitting height and weight were measured; leg length, sitting height ratio, BMI, and prevalence of stunting, underweight, overweight and obesity were calculated. Sex-specific ANCOVA controlling for age was used.

Results: Both urban and rural children experienced significant secular gains in linear dimensions, body weight and the BMI between the 1970s and 2000. Estimated rates of secular gain overlapped considerably between urban and rural children. Secular gains in the BMI are significantly greater in urban than rural boys and girls. Urban–rural differences in linear dimensions and body weight in 2000 compared to the 1970s do not differ in either sex, but urban–rural differences in the BMI are greater in boys and girls in 2000 compared to the 1970s. The prevalence of stunting declined while that of overweight and obesity increased.

Conclusions: Significant secular increases in body size occurred between the 1970s and 2000, but there was considerable overlap between urban and rural children. Only secular gains in the BMI were significantly greater in urban than rural boys and girls and the magnitudes of urban–rural differences in the BMI were greater in 2000 than in the 1970s.     

Serum Chemerin Levels Are Associated with Abdominal Visceral Fat in Type 2 Diabetes

Chemerin is a recently identified adipokine suggested to play a role in obesity and its metabolic complications. The relationship between visceral obesity and serum chemerin levels in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is unknown and may differ from that of subjects without diabetes. Therefore, we evaluated whether serum chemerin was associated with visceral abdominal obesity in patients with T2DM. A total of 218 Korean patients with T2DM were enrolled and metabolic parameters, abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat areas, and serum chemerin levels were measured. Serum chemerin level showed positive correlation with fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, serum triglyceride, serum creatinine, urine albumin/creatinine ratio, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), fibrinogen, abdominal visceral fat area, visceral to subcutaneous fat area ratio, and negatively correlation with high density lipoprotein cholesterol and creatinine clearance (CCr) after adjusting for age, gender and body mass index. Multiple linear stepwise regression analysis showed that abdominal visceral fat area (β = 0.001, P < 0.001), serum triglyceride (β = 0.001, P < 0.001), CCr (β = -0.003, P = 0.001), hsCRP (β = 0.157, P = 0.001), fibrinogen (β = 0.001, P < 0.001) and BMI (β = 0.02, P = 0.008) independently affected log transformed serum chemerin levels. Higher serum chemerin level was associated with higher level of abdominal visceral fat area, serum triglyceride, hsCRP and fibrinogen and lower level of CCr in patients with T2DM. Serum chemerin may be used as a biomarker of visceral adiposity and chemerin may play a role in inflammation, decreased renal function, and increased cardiovascular risk in T2DM.     

The risk analysis of arm fat area in Turkish children and adolescents

Aim: The study examined the risk factors associated with arm fat area (AFA) in Turkish children and adolescents. Methods and samples: This study was conducted with 5358 (2621 boys, 2737 girls) children and adolescents aged 6–17 years. Height, weight, waist circumference, mid-upper arm circumference and triceps skinfold thickness were measured. Body mass index, fat percentage, waist-to-height ratio, and AFA were calculated. A questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic data. For age- and gender-specific AFA, three groups were created by percentiles (underweight<5th, healthy weight≥5–84.99th, overweight≥85th percentiles). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the risk factors. Results: For the entire group, underweight and overweight prevalences were 4.7% and 14.9%, respectively. The body-size variables increased across age in Turkish boys and girls. The most significant risk factors for AFA were shown to be appetite, sleep duration, household income, and elevator use. Conclusion: AFA can be a significant index, in combination with other well-known anthropometric indices, in determining nutritional status.     

The effects of fatness and fat distribution on respiratory functions

BACKGROUND: Inverse relationships between respiratory function and indices of obesity and fat distribution have been reported, but it remains unclear which measure of obesity shows the strongest relationship with lung function. AIM: The study assessed the effect of fatness and fat distribution on respiratory function. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A sample of 423 males and 509 females aged 40-50 years were examined in the Silesian Centre for Preventive Medicine, DOLMED, in Wroc?aw in 1995. The strength of influence of height, body mass index (BMI), wait-to-hip ratio (WHR) and abdominal and subscapular skinfolds upon forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in a 1-s expiration (FEV1) was assessed by multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: In males, FVC was strongly positively associated with height and BMI, but negatively associated with subscapular and abdominal skinfolds, WHR, and smoking. FEV1 showed a positive relationship with height, BMI and WHR. In females, both FVC and FEV1 showed significant positive associations with height, negative ones with subscapular skinfold, and no association with either WHR or abdominal skinfold. In males, respiratory function is affected to a similar extent by fat in the abdominal region and by fatness of the chest. In females, fatness of the thorax has the strongest relationship with respiratory function. CONCLUSION: Fatness tends to impair respiratory function in both sexes but these effects show a different pattern in males and females. In males, respiratory functions are significantly, and to a similar extant, affected by fatness in the abdominal region, both subcutaneous and visceral, and by fatness on the chest. In females, it is primarily subcutaneous fat on the upper thorax that affects respiratory functions, while visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fatness play little or no role.     

Children’s body fatness and prevalence of obesity in relation to height for age

Background: Children who are taller for their age tend to have higher BMI and, as a group, a greater prevalence of overweight/obesity.

Aim: To examine the relationship between height for age with three measures of adiposity.

Subjects and methods: Height, weight, BMI, % body fat (%BF) (by bioimpedance) and waist circumference (WC) were measured in 2298 Caucasian children (1251 boys) aged 4–14 years. Standard deviation scores (SDS) were derived and cases divided into quartiles of height SDS. Mean BMI, %BF and WC SDSs were compared across quartiles. Prevalence of overweight/obesity, over-fat/obesity and abdominal overweight/obesity within each height for age quartile was determined.

Results: Mean BMI, %BF and WC SDSs increased with increasing quartile of height SDS. Overweight/obesity, overfat/obesity and abdominal overweight/obesity prevalence increased from the first quartile (8.8–13%) to the fourth quartile (32.7–45.5%) of height SDS. A significant rising trend in mean SDSs for BMI, %BF and WC was also observed with increasing height SDS in overweight/obese children only.

Conclusion: A higher prevalence of excess weight, measured by BMI SDS among children taller for their age, is replicated when using %BF and WC. Height for age measurement has potential in screening children for later risk of obesity.     

Evaluation of the effect of visceral fat area on the distance and angle between the superior mesenteric artery and the aorta

Purpose  To investigate the effect of visceral fat area on the distance and angle between the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and the aorta. Methods  On axial and sagittal images from abdomen CT scan, the distance and the angle between the SMA and the aorta were measured at the location where the third part of the duodenum crosses. The visceral fat area was calculated at the level of the umbilicus on the abdominal CT section. Body mass index was calculated. Results  For both genders, the correlation between the distance and visceral fat area was substantial (p < 0.001). For males, there was no statistically significant relationship between the angle and the visceral fat area. For females, the correlation between the angle and the visceral fat area was low but significant and positive (r = 0.25, p < 0.048). In addition, it was found that males have a greater proportion of visceral fat than females. In both females and males, the subcutaneous fat area correlated with BMI (r = 0.65, r = 0.69, respectively, p < 0.001), more strongly than the visceral fat area did (r = 0.51, r = 0.63, respectively, p < 0.001). Conclusions  The distance between the aorta and the SMA significantly correlates with visceral fat area than with BMI. The size of visceral fat area of females and males vary; therefore, the amount of visceral fat area should be considered in the establishing diagnosis of SMA syndrome.     

Effect of Lipoprotein Lipase Gene Polymorphism on Plasma Lipid Levels, BMI and Subcutaneous Fat Distribution in Simple Obesity Children

Objective To study the effects of Hind Ⅲ DNA polymorphis in the lipoprotein lipase ( LPL )gene on plasma lipid levels, body mass index ( BMI) and subcutaneous fat distribution in simple obesity children. Methods The LPL Hind Ⅲ genotypes were detected with the polymerase chain reaction ( PCR ) and restriction fragment length polymorphism ( RFLP ) techniques in 92 children with simple obesity. The levels of the plnsma lipid, plasma lipoproteins, BMI and skinfold thickness in three regions (biceps, subscapular and abdominal uall) were also measured. Results It was shown that the levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, ApoB, BMI, biceps and subscapular skinfold thickness, and the average value of the skinfold thickness in three regions were significantly higher in the obese children uyith H -H- genotype than those with H-+-H- genotype. Conclusions It can be concluded that LPL-Hind Ⅲ polymorphism may modify the levels of plasma lipid, plasma lipoprotein and BMI in children with simple obesity, and meanwhile alters the distribution of subcutaneous fat.     

Changes in central fatness and abdominal obesity in children and adolescents from Cracow,Poland 1983–2000

Abstract

Background: In the light of the world increase of overall and abdominal obesity, little is known about the trends in abdominal obesity and its prevalence in Poland, a country which at the end of 20th underwent a socio-economic transformation that conduced to obesogenic environments.

Aim: The study traced the trends and prevalence of abdominal obesity in two successive cohorts of children and adolescents from Cracow, Poland between 1983 and 2000.

Subjects and methods: The data examined in this study were from two series of cross-sectional studies; the first in 1983 included 3252 boys and 3288 girls, and the second in 2000 included 2409 boys and 2093 girls aged 4–20. Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were applied to assess the type of fat distribution.

Results: Means of WC and WHtR were higher in juvenile but lower in childhood and late adolescence periods in boys and girls from the 2000 cohort as compared to the 1983 one. The prevalence of abdominal obesity in Cracow children examined in 1983 was 3.9% for boys and 2.4% for girls, and in 2000 was 6.4% and 3.1%, respectively (in boys: χ² = 16.03, p = 0.0001; in girls: χ² = 1.90, p = 0.1684).

Conclusions: The 1983–2000 trend towards increasing prevalence of abdominal obesity in children and adolescents from Cracow is not as intensive as in other European countries, e.g. Britain, but it requires further monitoring.     

Differences in development and the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents in different socioeconomic status districts in Shandong,China

Background: There are wide-ranging differences in human growth, not only between ethnic groups but also between regions. Shandong is one of the most populous provinces in China, with inequalities of regional economic status. However, no studies on the differences in development among children and adolescents in different districts have been reported.

Aim: This study assessed the differences in height, weight and prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents of different socioeconomic status (SES) districts in Shandong, China.

Subjects and methods: Data for this study were obtained from a large cross-sectional survey of schoolchildren. A total of 42 286 students (21 222 boys and 21 064 girls) aged 7–18 years from 16 districts participated in this study. Height and weight of all subjects were measured and BMI was calculated from their height and weight. Prevalence rates of obesity and overweight were determined by comparing calculated BMIs (kg/m²) to International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-offs. Each of the 16 districts was assigned an SES ranking (low, moderate, high) based on per capita GDP and income in urban and rural areas. Comparisons of height, weight and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among different groups were made.

Results: Significant differences between SES groups were observed for height, weight and the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Boys and girls from high SES group were taller, heavier and more likely to be obese than their peers from moderate and low SES groups. The prevalences of combined overweight and obesity in the three SES groups were 18.46%, 21.08% and 27.31% in boys and 10.43%, 12.42% and 15.18% in girls, respectively.

Conclusion: There have been obvious regional variations in development and the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents in Shandong, China, These variations in development and prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents among different SES districts being related to the local SES, process of urbanization, living environments, nutritional status, dietary pattern, physical activity and public health.     

脂蛋白酶酶基因多态性对单纯肥胖症儿童血脂,体重指？…

目的 探讨脂蛋白酯酶（ｌｉｐｏｐｒｏｔｅｉｎ ｌｉｐａｓｅ,ＬＰＬ）基因中常见多态位点Ｈｉｎｄ Ⅲ基因多态性对单纯肥胖症儿童血脂,体重指数（ｂｏｄｙ ｍａｓｓ ｉｎｄｅｘ,ＢＭＩ）及皮下脂肪分布的影响。方法 应用聚合酶链反应和限制性内切酶片段长度多态性技术,检测了９２例单纯肥胖症儿童的Ｈｉｎｄ Ⅲ－ＬＰＬ基因多态性,并测定了血脂,ＢＭＩ及枘本３个测量部位（肱二头肌,肩胛下,腹壁）的皮褶厚度等。     

Correlation between complicated diverticulitis and visceral fat

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of complications related to diverticulitis and visceral obesity. The study was based on a retrospective case note review conducted at the Hanyang University Hospital. Patients were diagnosed with diverticulitis based on clinical symptoms and abdominal computed tomography (CT) findings and divided into two groups: those admitted with complicated diverticulitis and those with a simple diverticulitis episode. We compared the body mass index (BMI) and degree of visceral obesity, measured by abdominal CT. The study included 140 patients, 87 (62.1%) were simple diverticulitis and 53 (37.9%) were complicated diverticulitis. In the complicated diverticulitis group, 9 (6.4%) cases were recurrent, 29 (20.7%) were perforation or abscess patients, and 28 (20%) were patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Of the SIRS patients, 13 were involved in other complication groups. When comparing in the two groups, the complicated diverticulitis group had a significantly higher visceral fat area (128.57 cm(2) vs 102.80 cm(2), P = 0.032) and a higher ratio of visceral fat area/subcutaneous fat area (0.997 vs 0.799, P = 0.014). Visceral obesity is significantly associated with complications of diverticulitis.     

Weight and body mass index (BMI): current data for Austrian boys and girls aged 4 to under 19 years

Background: BMI reference charts are widely used to diagnose overweight, obesity and underweight in children and adolescents.

Aim: To provide up-to-date national reference values for Austria.

Methods: A cross-sectional sample of over 14?500 children and adolescents (4–19 years) stratified by provinces according to age- and sex-specific population proportions was drawn via schooling institutions (kindergartens, schools and vocational colleges). The generalized additive models for location, scale and shape were used for a flexible estimation of percentile curves.

Results: Austrian boys and girls have higher average weight compared with previous prevalence data. BMI centiles matching BMI values at age 18 years, which are used for defining thinness, overweight and obesity in adults, were calculated. In Austria, using reference values as thresholds, ～18% of boys and 12% of girls are overweight (with thresholds passing through BMI 25.00–29.99?kg/m² in adults) and 5% of boys and 3% of girls are obese (with thresholds passing through BMI ≥30.00?kg/m² in adults).

Conclusion: Overweight and obesity are common in Austria and their prevalence is increasing (using the same IOTF reference for international comparison). Up-to-date national BMI reference values are provided to classify children and adolescents according to the proposed overweight and obesity thresholds.     

Association of Peripheral Total and Differential Leukocyte Counts with Obesity-Related Complications in Young Adults

ObjectiveObesity has been demonstrated to be associated with elevated leukocytes in adults and children. This study assessed the associations between peripheral total and differential leukocyte counts and obesity-related complications in young adults.Methods12 obese (median age 21.5 (range 19-28) years, median BMI 35.7 (range 32.0-44.9) kg/m²) and 11 normal (median age 23 (range 18-27) years, median BMI 19.5 (range 18.1-21.7) kg/m²) adults were enrolled. Complete blood count and serum levels of liver enzymes, fasting blood glucose, insulin and lipids were measured, and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance was calculated. Fat mass was calculated using a bioimpedance analysis device, and ultrasonography was performed to measure fat thickness and to detect fatty change of the liver.ResultsTotal leukocyte and monocyte counts were significantly increased in obese young adults. Total leukocyte count was associated with liver enzyme levels, insulin resistance as well as visceral and subcutaneous fat thickness. Neutrophil count was associated with insulin resistance. Lymphocyte count was associated with serum liver enzymes, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. Monocyte count was associated with serum liver enzyme, insulin resistance, visceral and subcutaneous fat thickness, body fat mass, and percentage body fat.ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that chronic low-grade systemic inflammation is associated with obesity-related complications such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia in young adults.Key Words: Inflammation, Obesity, Insulin resistance, Dyslipidemia, Body fat