Anthropometric Indices and Plasma Lipid Profile in Subjects with Gluteofemoral and Abdominal Obesity in Benin City, Nigeria

Obesity is associated with biochemical alterations that predisposes individuals to various diseases. Hence, the objective of this paper was to assess the Anthropometric Indices [body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-hip circumference ratio (WHR), and thigh circumference] and Plasma Lipid Profile [Total cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL)] in Subjects with Gluteofemoral (GF) and Abdominal Obesity (AO) in Benin City, Nigeria using appropriate standard procedures with two hundred adult male and female subjects recruited using simple random sampling method. There were significantly higher mean BMI, WC, WHR, thigh circumference and plasma levels of TC, TG, HDL, LDL, TC/HDL, and LDL/HDL ratio in the obese individuals compared to control group (p<0.05). There were significantly higher mean plasma TC, LDL, TC/HDL, LDL/HDL levels in the male and female obese persons than in the male and female control groups (p<0.05). Also, the mean plasma TC and LDL levels were significantly higher in those with AO than in those with GF. WHR/TC, TC/HDL, HC/TG and thigh circumference/HDL showed moderate positive correlations in obese individuals (P<0.05). These alterations may predispose obese persons to higher risks for chronic diseases especially cardiovascular disease.