Determination of the Relationship between the Body Composition and Pulmonary Function in Obese Individuals

Objective: Body mass index (BMI) is used as a basic parameter in assessing obesity. However, BMI is not sensitive in the assessment of body fat percentage (BFP) and body fat distribution (BFD). The aim of this study is to determine the effect of BFP and BFD on the pulmonary functions and compare this effect with BMI.
Methods: This study was conducted with a total of 170 volunteers. BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and BFPs of healthy normal weight, overweight, and obese individuals were measured and their pulmonary function tests were statistically compared with each other.
Results: There was no significant relationship between BMI increase and pulmonary function test results of the individuals. There were significant correlations between BFP increase and forced expiratory volume (FEV1%) and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of FVC (FEF25–75%). In the male patients, FEV1% value was negatively correlated with waist circumference. In female patients, WHR was positively correlated with FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC%, whereas it was negatively correlated with FEV1% values.
Conclusion: Because the widely used BMI is incapable of distinguishing BFP and BFD, it can be insufficient for evaluating the lung functions.Therefore, determining the body composition is important in the evaluation of obese individuals.