A Study to Correlate Waist Circumference (WC) and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) in Overweight Women: A Correlational Study

Abstract

Background and objective:Obesity is a major health issue and there is steady trend of increasing obesity over the past
several decades. Obesity can alter the respiratory function and may impair the health of an individual. Although
several factors such as respiratory muscle strength, lung compliance, resistance to airflow and even obesity affect
the lung functions, the nature of relationship with markers of adiposity, the role of body fat distribution has
received limited attention. So the objective of this study was to correlate PEFR and WC in overweight women.
Methods: 100 overweight women whose BMI was 25-29.9 kg/m2, who fulfill the inclusion and exclusion criteria,
aged between 20-50 years were selected for the study. Waist circumference (WC) and Peak expiratory flow rate
(PEFR) of all the subjects were measured. Results: Data were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient.
The result showed non- significant correlation (p=0.057) (r = -0.057) between PEFR and WC in overweight women.
Conclusion: The study concluded that obesity, measured as WC did not significantly affect the PEFR in young
overweight females in the age group of 20 to 50 years. A central pattern of fat distribution, as measured by WC
alone was not associated with lower values for PEFR in young female overweight adults.