Visceral adiposity index as a tool for cardiometabolic risk in obese older women

OBJECTIVE: To correlate anthropometric measurements, lipid profile, cardiorespiratory fitness, and visceral adiposity index (VAI) in sedentary obese older women. METHODS: Twenty-seven insufficiently active and overweight older women were included in this cross-sectional study. We evaluated their anthropometric profile (body weight and stature, body mass index, waist and hip circumferences) and body composition (fat mass, body fat percentage, and musculoskeletal mass). Venous blood samples were analyzed for high and low-density lipoproteins (HDL-c and LDL-c), triglycerides (TG), and the LDL/HDL ratio. Peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) was measured using an adapted Bruce test using direct spirometry. We tested data normality and applied Pearson’s correlation, assuming a p &lt; 0.05. RESULS: The following correlations were observed: VAI and HDL (r = -0.53); VAI and LDL (r = 0.35); VAI and TG (r = 0.86); VAI and TG/HDL (r = 0.99) and VAI and VO2 peak (r = -0.55), with p &le; 0.01 for all analyses. CONCLUSION: The findings suggested that VAI may be used as a tool to assess cardiometabolic risk in obese older women. Future studies should evaluate the applicability of VAI as a cardiometabolic risk factor indicator in older adults.</p

Comparison of functionality, risk of falls and fear of falling in the elderly due to the profile of physical activity

Objetivo: Comparar a funcionalidade, o risco de quedas e o medo de cair em idosos em razão do perfil de prática de atividade física. Método: Trata-se de um estudo transversal, realizado com 80 idosos de ambos os sexos. Foi utilizado um questionário sociodemográfico e de saúde, o medo de cair foi avaliado pela Escala de Eficácia de Quedas (FES-I) e a funcionalidade foi avaliada por meio da avaliação de saúde e deficiência (WHODAS 2.0). Resultados: A análise dos dados foi feita por meio dos testes Kolmogorov-Smirnov, testes de Kruskal-Wallis e “U” de Mann-Whitney. Considerou-se um nível de significância de p&lt;0,05. Os principais achados demonstraram que os idosos que frequentam a academia mais de três vezes por semana apresentam melhor capacidade funcional em medo de quedas (p = 0,020) e nos domínios de cognição (p = 0,024), mobilidade (p = 0,042) e autocuidado (p = 0,036). Conclusão: A maior frequência de atividade física parecer ser fator interveniente nos menores risco de quedas, menor medo de cair e maior funcionalidade.Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare functionality, the risk of falls and the fear of falling in the elderly due to the profile of physical activity. Method: This is a cross-sectional study, carried out with 80 elderly people of both sexes. A sociodemographic and health questionnaire was used, the fear of falling was assessed using the Falls Effectiveness Scale (FES-I) and functionality was assessed using the health and disability assessment (WHODAS 2.0). Results: Data analysis was performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests and Mann-Whitney “U” tests. A significance level of p &lt;0.05 was considered. The main findings demonstrated that the elderly who attend the gym more than three times a week have better functional capacity in fear of falling (p = 0.020) and in the domains of cognition (p = 0.024), mobility (p = 0.042) and self-care (p = 0.036). Conclusion: It is concluded that the higher frequency of physical activity seems to be an intervening factor in the lower risk of falls, less fear of falling and greater functionality