Body composition estimated by bioimpedance analysis in Sicilian climacteric women

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of menopause transition on body weight, and body composition in a Sicilian climacteric population.

Two hundred and nine (60 pre- and one 149 postmenopausal) untreated, healthy women were selected. Body composition was estimated by BIA101 of AKERN SRL. Body Mass Index (BMI), waist and hip circumferences were also measured.

The mean BMI of the study population was 29.4+/-0.7. There was no significative difference between pre- and postmenopausal subjects regarding BMI (chi-squared=9.25; P=0.16), its class distribution, fat mass (FM), TBW and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). The FM was significantly more represented in pre- than in postmenopausal women (47.43+/-1.33 vs 45.02+/-0.81 kg) (P<0.01). Linear regression analysis showed a positive correlation between BMI and fat free mass (FM) percentage (chi-squares=0.7045) nevertheless among the subjects aged=or>55 years, in 57% of the normo-weight the body fat (BF) percentage was undesirably high.

Climacteric changes and aging process are related to changes in body weight and fat distribution; even subjects apparently ''normo-weight'' (BMI below 25) were ''over-fat'', because revealed undesirably high BF%. Further investigation in larger population is needed to define whether BMI or BF% better predicts the risk of obesity-related diseases in climacteric Sicilian women.