Obesity alone could give rise to altered lipid profile: a study among apparently healthy adults in sri lanka

Introduction: WHO has estimated that 75 % of deaths in developing countries will be due to obesity related diseases. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the lipid profile in apparently healthy Sri Lankan subjects who were not diagnosed with any chronic or major diseases (apparently healthy). Methods: An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain socio demographic data. Blood samples obtained from individual participants after 12 hours overnight fast was tested for lipid profiles. Anthropometric measurements were obtained according to standard procedures. All data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17 and p-value< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the population was 38 (± 12SD) years. The percentages of overweight (21.3%) and obese (35.6%) were comparatively high even though the subjects were apparently healthy. Further, the percentage of males with abdominal obesity (41.8%) was higher than that of females (23.0%). All the lipid parameters, except HDL-C were elevated in the obese group compared to non-obese even though both means were within the normal range; but among the obese subjects 46 % had elevated TC (>5.1 mmol/L) and 42.3% had elevated LDL-C (> 3.4 mmo/L). There was a significant increase in TC/HDL with increasing BMI. Conclusion: This study contributes to the finding that the percentage of overweight and obesity is very high in Sri Lanka. Though the study population was apparently healthy, the percentage of obese subjects with altered lipid profile was higher indicating the necessity for an effective screening process.