Body Composition in Obesity1

Thirty-nine obese patients and 19 clinical variables have been studied, and about 500 correlations between them were analyzed. The following observations were made: 1 The overweight predicted only on the basis of height is about the same as that calculated from height and skeletal measurements. 2 Calculations of the body-fat and lean body mass based on 40K determinations show that not only the fat content but also the LBM seem to be increased in obesity, especially in men. In agreement with this a significantly higher total body potassium and LBM was found in the men but not in the women in comparison with normal subjects. The difference in the amount of fat content between the obese and the normal subjects was statistically significant in both sexes. The highest amount of fat found was 90 kg, the lowest, in a control subject, 7 kg. 3 An equation is given which allows the body-fat to be calculated without 40K determinations. Only the thickness of the subscapular and paraumbilical skinfold, the weight, and the height are needed. 4 In contrast to those of normal weight, obese women—possibly owing to the high caloric intake—have as high serum iron as men but despite this a lower haemoglobin level than the men. 5 The blood volume rises with weight, as in subjects of normal weight. 6 In the women the serum concentration of iron, folic acid and protein fall with rising weight. The serum concentration of ascorbic acid is low, especially in men. 7 The obese patients have a normal serum cholesterol level, whereas the fasting blood sugar, serum triglycerides and blood pressure are raised. 8 The oxygen consumption is significantly correlated to the body cell mass, which confirms earlier observations.