[Extracellular fluid and total potassium content in obesity patients]

The content of extracellular fluid and total potassium was studied by total-body radiometry with 82Br and according to 40K in 162 females aged 41 to 55 years suffering from obesity. It was established that in patients with obesity the volume of extracellular tissue, in per cent, and the amount of total potassium, in gramms and millieequivalent per unit of actual body mass, were reduced. An increase in the content of extracellular fluid and a decrease in the level of total potassium in obese patients with circulatory insufficiency may be revealed only when the real content of extracellular fluid and the total potassium are stimated in relation to the unit of body surface. In obese patients with no signs of circulatory insufficiency these relative values hardly differ from the control values.