Abstract:

Introduction: The increase ofbody weight is one of triggering factors of mechanisms to cardiovascular risk, such as changes in the metabolism of glucose and lipids. Realized a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women due to the loss of the protective effect of endogenous estrogen. Aim: We analyzed the relation between body composition and lipid and glycemic profile in sedentary postmenopausal women. Materials and methods: The sample consisted of 82 women aged between 47 and 84 years, patients of “Unidade de Saúde da Família” (A Basic Health Unit Program) from Jardim Aeroporto neighborhood, of Marilia city, in São Paulo state, Brazil. The level of habitual physical activity was measured by the Baecke Questionnaire, which all was rated as sedentary. For diagnosis of obesity values of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were used. We divided the sample in normal, overweight and obese. Biochemical variables of total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol and fasting plasma glucose were measured. Results: There was no significant difference (p < 0.05) in biochemical profile between groups, either by BMI, as the WC. Discussion: The BMI and WC are effective strategies for classifying cardiovascular risk, but little is correlated with body fat percentage, variable that presents a great relation with obesity in menopause. Conclusion: No relationship between BMI and WC on the biochemical profile of sedentary postmenopausal women, suggest that the aging process is the factor with the greatest impact on changes in the lipid profile of this population.

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