Relation of body fat distribution to serum lipids and lipoproteins in elderly women.

Fat distribution measured by dual photon absorptiometry, serum lipids and lipoproteins were determined in 95 elderly women with mild osteoporosis. Increasing obesity, determined anthropometrically as body mass index (BMI) = body weight/(height)2, was associated with a more central fat distribution (P less than 0.001) Central fat distribution correlated positively and independently of BMI and body weight to serum cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides and the ratio LDL-C/HDL-C (P less than 0.05), whereas the correlation between central fat distribution and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) was negative (P less than 0.05). We conclude that the increased risk of cardiovascular disease observed in subjects with central fat distribution might be partly mediated through changes in the lipoprotein profile.