Chest
Original ResearchPulmonary Function TestingFat Distribution and End-Expiratory Lung Volume in Lean and Obese Men and Women
Section snippets
Subjects
Nine lean men (< 25% body fat) and 10 obese men (> 30% body fat), and 11 lean women and 10 obese women were recruited through local advertisements (ie, BMI ranges were used for recruitment purposes, and the percentage of body fat was confirmed after written consent was obtained). The lean and obese men also participated in another study,18 which focused on the effects of obesity on respiratory mechanics during exercise. The lean and obese women exclusively participated in this prospective study
Subjects
Subject characteristics are shown in Table 1. All body circumferences, ratios and BMIs were significantly different between the lean and obese subjects for both men and women (p < 0.001). Both total body fat and lean body mass were significantly greater (p < 0.001) in the obese men compared with the lean men (Fig 1, top, A). The same was true for the lean and obese women (Fig 1, bottom, B). Among the men, all subjects were currently nonsmokers, while two of the lean men were ex-smokers (smoking
Discussion
We have reported for the first time the associations between direct measures of chest wall fat distribution and measures of lung function in lean and obese men and women. We also have reported that the chest wall fat distribution was closely similar between lean and obese men and women, which means that the increase in chest wall fat distribution was proportional to the overall increase in obesity. Therefore, almost all measurements of overall obesity (eg, BMI and percentage of body fat) and
Acknowledgment
The authors wish to express their appreciation to P.T. Weatherall, MD, Tommy Tillery, RT (R) (MR)(CT), Brian Fox, RT (R)(MR), and Jerri Payne, PA-C, of the Rogers NMR Center at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; and Judy L. Barron and R. Michael Collins of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine for their assistance with this project. The authors also acknowledge the editorial contributions of Helen E. Wood, PhD.
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This research was supported by an American Lung Association Career Investigator Award, AHA, TX Affiliate Grant, and the King Charitable Foundation Trust.
The authors have reported to the ACCP that no significant conflicts of interest exist with any companies/organizations whose products or services may be discussed in this article.
Reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission from the American College of Chest Physicians (www.chestjournal.org/misc/reprints.shtml).