THE NON-ADIPOSE BODY MASS OF OBESE WOMEN: EVIDENCE OF INCREASED MUSCULARITY.

Non-adipose body mass (NAB) is an approximate indicator of total muscle mass and body protein content. The indirect measurement of NAB in obese man is of interest because of its relationship to muscle mass and, therefore, to physical fitness. Furthermore, NAB might reflect reduced body protein in instances of suspected "metabolic obesity".Adipose tissue mass and NAB were derived from measurements of body weight and total body water in 48 obese and 19 normally nourished women with the aid of previously determined constants for the water fractions of adipose tissue and NAB.The mean NAB was increased in 23 moderately obese patients (42.1 kg. vs. 35.2 kg. for the controls). A higher mean NAB (51.3 kg.) was found in eight grossly obese women.It was concluded that obese women have a larger than normal mean muscle mass.A height-weight table gave a grossly misleading estimate of the degree of obesity in two unusually muscular siblings.