[Height, leg length, adiposity and metabolic-cardiovascular risk in women aged 35-55 years]

To determine the relative importance of the components of height in the evaluation of the adiposity and the cardiovascular and metabolic risk profile in women aged 35-55 years.

Cross-sectional study. 30 healthy women were recruited. Components of height (total height, trunk length, leg length) was compared with body mass index (BMI), body fat, and different measures of central adiposity: waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and sagittal abdominal diameter. Metabolic-cardiovascular risk was assessed by serum levels of glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol; and systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures. Biological factors and socio-economic status influences was evaluated.

Glucose levels were inversely associated with height (r = -0.395; p < 0.05). When analyzing this association for components of height, glucose was negatively related to leg length (r = -0.447; p < 0.05) and showed no association with trunk length or the superior segment. The height or its components were not significantly related to BMI, percentage of body fat, estimators of body fat distribution, blood pressure or the rest of metabolic parameters. Education level was associated with leg length (r = 0.390; p = 0.037) and negatively related to glucose levels (r = -0.517; p = 0.004) and other risk factors.

These data support the hypothesis that adiposity is conditioned by weight and that stature is inversely related to risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders in women aged 35-55 years, and suggest that legs length is the component of stature that conditions this result and that socio-economic status influences in this association. Factors which might explain this association remain to be determined.