BACKGROUND: The accumulation of visceral fat is considered a major risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of visceral obesity and to assess its association with cardiovascular risk factors in young women from the state of Pernambuco. METHODS: Cross-sectional study carried out with data from the "III Health and Nutrition State Survey", involving women aged 25 to 36 years. The following variables were evaluated: body mass index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), volume of visceral fat (VVF) estimated by a predictive equation, Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure (SBP, DBP), total cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TG), fasting glucose (FG). RESULTS: A total of 517 women were evaluated, with a median age of 29 years (27-32) and prevalence of visceral obesity of 30.6%. BMI, SBP, DBP and TG were higher in the group with visceral obesity: BMI = 28.0 kg/m2 (25.0 to 21.4) vs. 23.9 kg/m2 (21.5 to 26.4) , SBP = 120.0 mmHg (110.0 to 130.0) vs. 112.0 mmHg (100.0 to 122.0), DBP = 74 mmHg (70-80) vs. 70 mmHg (63-80); TG = 156.0 mg / dL (115.0 to 203.2) vs. 131.0 mg / dL (104.0 to 161.0), respectively, p < 0.01. Age, SBP, DBP, TG and TC levels were significantly and positively correlated with the VVF: r = 0.171, 0.224, 0.163, 0.278, 0.124 respectively, p < 0.005. CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of visceral obesity was observed, being statistically correlated with cardiovascular risk factors.
Subcutaneous rat, abdominal; prevalence; risk factors; cardiovascular diseases; body mass index; blood pressure; dyslipidemias; women
