[Early detection of obesity in male adults using a combination of body index and bioelectrical impedance method].
Obesity is an excess of body fat frequently resulting in a significant impairment of health. Body index derived from body weight and height is widely available in Japan. However, body index cannot express the fat deposition in the body. Screening for early obesity was studied using a combination of body index and bioelectrical impedance for detecting fat deposition. Three hundred twenty-nine male subjects with normal body index participated in this study. Blood pressure, uric acid, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, GOT, GPT, gamma-GTP, choline esterase and glucose tolerance after a 75-gram glucose load were measured. The following results were obtained. 1. Among 321 subjects with normal body index, 95 subjects had body fat exceeding 23% as measured by bioelectrical impedance. 2. By matched-pair comparison in the subjects whose body mass indices were within +/- 10% fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, GOT, GPT, gamma-GTP and choline esterase were significantly higher and high density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly lower in subjects with fat deposition over 23% than in the 92 matched controls with body fat less than 23%. In conclusion, bioelectrical impedance appears to be useful for detecting early stages of obesity in subjects with normal body index.