Open AccessPrevalence of Obesity and Its Association with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Adolescent Girls from a College in Central Taiwan
Author(s) -
Lu John JennYenn,
Jiang Donald DahShyong,
Chou ShieuMing,
Hor ChangBor,
Lay JongDing,
Wang HsiangLing
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the kaohsiung journal of medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.439
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 2410-8650
pISSN - 1607-551X
DOI - 10.1016/s1607-551x(08)70142-6
Subject(s) - medicine , overweight , obesity , body mass index , uric acid , population , blood pressure , endocrinology , triglyceride , cholesterol , environmental health
Although obesity is associated with important hemodynamic disturbances, little data exists on population‐wide cardiovascular risk factors in obese adolescent girls in Taiwan. This study measured the prevalence of overweight/obesity and related cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescent females. This was a school‐based survey of a representative sample of 291 females aged 15 and 18 years in a public college in Central Taiwan. The main measures were height, body weight, systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), uric acid, cholesterol, triglyceride (TG) and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C). Obese (body mass index [BMI]≥25.3) and overweight (22.7≤BMI≤25.2) individuals were combined and labeled as overweight (BMI ≥22.7) to make communication of results clearer. Data gleaned from freshmen's health examinations were analyzed. The prevalence of obesity (BMI≥25.3) was 9.28% and of overweight (BMI≥22.7) was 21.31%. Being overweight was associated with higher SBP, DBP, uric acid and TG, and lower levels of HDL‐C, but was not associated with cholesterol. The 15‐year‐old group showed higher mean levels of uric acid, total cholesterol, TG and HDL‐C than the 18‐year‐old group ( p < 0.05). All told, 3.1%, 15.12% and 2.1% of the girls showed abnormally elevated levels of uric acid, cholesterol and TG, respectively. In addition, 5.84% had abnormally lower HDL‐C levels, indicating that interventions should focus on reducing obesity and encouraging proper dietary habits and sufficient exercise, especially in subjects with lower HDL‐C levels and higher levels of cholesterol, TG and uric acid.