Association between Anthropometric Indices, Plasma Insulin, Lipids and Lipoproteins in Overweight and Obese Nigerians

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between excess body weight gain and plasma insulin, lipid profile and anthropometric indices in overweight/obese civil servants urban city dwellers in Nigeria where fast food outlets are fast growing.
Study Design: This study was designed to access anthropometric indices, plasma lipid profile and insulin in non diagnosed disease overweight/obese individuals.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Department of Chemical Pathology University College Hospital Ibadan Nigeria, between February 2010 and June 2011.
Methodology: Ninety (90) male and female subjects consisting of sixty overweight/obese with mean age of 36.38±1.04 years and thirty normal weight with mean age of 35.93±1.73 years served as controls. Anthropometric indices were measured using standard procedures. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and triglyceride (TG) were estimated using biochemical procedures. Insulin was measured with the Ultrasensitive Insulin assay on the Access® immunoassay system. The low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) was calculated.
Results: The results showed increased plasma insulin (P=.031), TC (P=.004), TG (P=.008) and LDLC (P=.001), BMI (P=.005), weight, waist and hip circumferences (P=.000) were significantly increased compared to the corresponding control values. Insulin was significantly correlated with BMI (r=.403, P=.003) body weight (r=.464, P=.001) and height (r=.380, P=.02) in overweight/obese subjects.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that risk factors for cardio metabolic syndrome exist in overweight /obese civil servants urban city dwellers that have no known diagnosed diseases.