Comparison of dyslipidemia among the normal-BMI and high-BMI group of people of rural Tamil Nadu

Background: Overweight and obesity are considered major epidemic health problems in both developed and underdeveloped countries, as many studies showed a remarkable rise. One of the causes of dyslipidemia is obesity. Body mass index (BMI) correlates reasonably well with laboratory-based measures of adiposity for population studies, and is extremely practical in most clinical settings. Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the lipid profile of patients with normal BMI and high BMI. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 400 subjects attended the medical outpatient department (OPD) of a private medical college hospital at Salem from March 2010 to August 2011. The subjects were divided into two groups (200 in each group): (1) high BMI (BMI 25 and above) and (2) normal BMI (BMI less than 25). The laboratory parameters; cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride (TG) were determined directly by using an automated chemistry analyzer. Statistical Analysis: The Student′s t-test was used for comparison between categorical variables, i.e. lipid profile, high-BMI and normal-BMI subjects at P ≤0.05. Results: The total cholesterol, LDL and very LDL cholesterol and the TGs are found to be relatively high among the subjects with high BMI when compared with normal BMI persons, and this difference was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05), whereas HDL cholesterol had not shown any significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: By analyzing the results of the study conducted, it was concluded that there was an increased risk of dyslipidemia among the high-BMI group compared with the normal-BMI people. Hence, a community-based education in this regard is of utmost importance