MENOPAUSE, FAT AND LEAN DISTRIBUTION IN OBESE WOMEN

Objectives. Whether menopause per se influences fat distribution indep endently of the effect of aging remains controversial. The lack of con sistency in the menopause related changes in body fat distribution may be the result of differences in the methods for measuring fat distrib ution or in the characteristics of the women studied. The-aim of this cross sectional study in obese women was to compare total body composi tion and regional fat and lean distribution, in premenopausal, perimen opausal and postmenopausal women. Methods: Body composition was assess ed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in premenopausal (n = 26 ), perimenopausal(n = 24) and postmenopausal (n = 73) obese women with no intercurrent diseases. Results: It was shown that postmenopausal o bese (n = 73) women had a higher proportion of total fat mass in the t runk and a lower proportion of total fat and lean mass in the femoral and leg regions than premenopausal women after adjustment for age and total fat mass. In the same analysis, perimenopausal women had a lower proportion of total fat in the leg and femoral regions and of total l ean in the femoral region than premenopausal women; they had a regiona l body composition similar to that of postmenopausal women. Conclusion : The present data indicate that in obese women, post menopause and pe rimenopause are associated with differences in fat and lean distributi on, independently of age and total fat.