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Reduced metabolic improvements after weight loss in women with short stature, obesity
Among women with short stature and obesity living in low-income areas in Brazil, metabolic improvements after weight loss were smaller vs. women of average height with obesity, according to recent findings.
Nassib B. Bueno, MSc, PhD, nutritionist and professor at Federal University of Alagoas, Brazil, and colleagues analyzed data from 59 women shorter than 152 cm (n = 30) or taller than 159 cm (n = 29), all living in a socially vulnerable area of Brazil. All women participated in the same weight-loss program, receiving dietary counseling, exercise classes and group therapy for 3 months, with a goal of losing 8% of their initial body weight. Researchers measured weight, waist and hip circumference and fat mass, as well as blood pressure and metabolic markers at baseline and after the intervention.
At 3 months, women with short stature lost 8% of body weight; women of average height lost 8.1% of body weight (P = .94). Researchers observed an interaction for glucose, with a mean variation of –1.6 mg/dL for the short-statue group and –6.2 mg/dL for the average-height group (P = .03 for interaction). Interactions were also observed for insulin (mean variation, –1.7 mIU/mL vs. –3.9 mIU/mL; P = .04 for interaction) and albuminuria (mean variation, –1.63 mg/g vs. –3.3 mg/g; P = .01 for interaction).
“If you are treating obese, short-stature women, especially in a low-income context (which may indicate an early undernutrition), you should monitor blood cardiovascular risk factors more often,” Bueno told Endocrine Today.
The researchers noted that the observed reduced improvements in metabolic markers may represent a long-term risk for women with obesity and short stature.
“There were no differences in changes in weight loss in percentage, fat mass index and waist circumference between groups,” the researchers wrote. “Hence, it would be expected that the metabolic profile of the groups would not change in different ways. ... Considering the low-income setting, it is possible that the poor environmental conditions in the
women’s early life played a role in the present results, as seen in famine cohort studies.
Hence, short-stature, obese women may demand enhanced health care attention.”– by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: This study was funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technologic Development. The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.