Costa Thais Ribeiro, Lima Tiago Pessoa, Gontijo Patrícia Lúcia, Carvalho Harley Alves de, Cardoso Flávia Perassa de Faria, Faria Orlando Pereira, Cavalcanti Neto Florêncio Figueiredo
Universidade Católica de Brasília (Campus I), Brasília, DF, Brazil.
Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2010 Jul-Aug;56(4):403-8. doi: 10.1590/s0104-42302010000400011.
To correlate anthropometric data and respiratory muscle strength (RMS) of normal-weight and obese women.
The sample consisted of 103 sedentary women, divided into two groups: 57 obese and 46 normal-weight women. Waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were measured to calculate the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and maximal respiratory pressures (Pmax) were determined using an analog vacuum manometer to ± 300 cm H2O. Body composition was measured using tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance analysis. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis, in addition to the Student t test for independent samples, Pearson correlation, and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. Significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05.
The analysis showed significant differences in Pmax of normal-weight women (PImax = -73.04±16.55 cm H2O and PEmax = 79.67±18.89 cm H2O) and obese women (PImax = -85.00±21.69 cm H2O and PEmax = 103.86±20.35 cm H2O). Anthropometric and manometric variables showed no significant correlation in both groups. When analyzing the influence of bioelectrical impedance on RMS, a positive correlation was observed between lean body mass and PImax.
Bioelectrical impedance and obesity showed a direct correlation with RMS. WC and WHR had no influence on RMS of obese women; however, a relevance to risk factors for associated diseases was observed. We believe that these results are due to an adjustment to excess body weight over the years.
