Abstract

BEJARANO, Ignacio F et al. Composición corporal y adiposidad en adultos jujeños de distintos niveles altitudinales. Rev Arg Antrop Biol [online]. 2013, vol.15, n.1, pp.29-36. ISSN 1514-7991.

Obesity is a public health problem associated with conditions that affect morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of body fat excess in the adult population from Jujuy, located at different altitudinal levels, using different anthropometric indicators of adiposity. The sample of 345 healthy individuals aged 20 to 40 years old was randomly selected from two locations: San Salvador de Jujuy (SSJ) (1259masl) and La Quiaca (LAQ) (3442masl) in a survey conducted in 2010. Basing on height (H), weight (W), waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC), Body Mass Index (BMI=W/H²), WC/HC and WC/H indexes were determined; prevalences of adiposity excess were also established. Continuous variables were compared with ANOVA and prevalences with ?² (SPSS and MEDCAL). While men and women from SSJ were taller and heavier than those from LAQ, differences were statistically significant only in women. No differences were observed in WC, HC and BMI, while some differences were found in WC/HC and WC/H, presenting males from LAQ the highest values. No differences were observed between the locations for any of the obesity indicators. Regardless of the indicator used, a high percentage of the population presented significant adiposity excess. A high correlation of all indicators was observed, especially of BMI, WC, HC and WC/H. The populations from Jujuy highlands present high adiposity indicators, typical of overfed populations. However, the interpretation of these results must be extended in depth by analyzing the metabolic characteristics and eating habits of these populations, which have been insufficiently explored and understood to date.

Keywords : Obesity; Geographic altitude; Anthropometry; Adults; Jujuy.

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