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Intra-abdominal adipose tissue deposition and parity.
T E Blaudeau1, G R Hunter, B Sirikul
1Department of Human Studies and Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1250, USA. blaudeau@uab.edu
International Journal of Obesity (2005)
|February 8, 2006
Summary
Increasing parity is linked to higher intra-abdominal adipose tissue in women, even after accounting for age, body fat, physical activity, and smoking.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Body Composition Analysis
- Metabolic Health
Background:
- Parity, the number of times a woman has given birth, may influence body composition.
- Understanding fat distribution in relation to parity is crucial for metabolic health assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between parity and body composition/fat distribution.
- To adjust for potential confounding factors including age, smoking, and physical activity.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study design.
- Involved 170 Caucasian women (ages 18-76) without significant health conditions.
- Utilized dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and computed tomography for body composition and fat distribution assessment.
Main Results:
- Initial analysis showed a significant relationship between percent body fat and parity.
- After adjusting for confounders, this relationship became non-significant.
- However, intra-abdominal adipose tissue remained significantly associated with parity (partial r=0.18, P=0.02).
Conclusions:
- Intra-abdominal adipose tissue accumulation increases with higher parity.
- This association persists even when controlling for age, body fat percentage, physical activity, and smoking status.