The aim of this study was to analyze the distribution of body fat associated with aging in women participating in a structured program of physical exercise. The sample consisted of 177 women aged 35 to 75 years. They were divided into quartiles according to age: G1= 50.2 ± 5.4 years (n = 44); G2= 58.0 ± 1.4 years (n = 44); G3 = 62.9 ± 1.4 years (n = 44) and G4 = 69.3 ± 2.6 years (n = 45). We measured the following variables: body mass (BM), height (HEI), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and abdominal skinfold (AbdS). We used ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test to check for differences between groups. For the contingency analysis of women exposed to high cardiovascular risk (WC>88 cm) it was used the chi-square test (p<0.05). No significant differences were found in BM, IMC and AbdS. However, a significant increase was observed in WC between G1 and G4. For all groups were found higher values of exposure to cardiovascular risk. The results suggested a tendency of change in the pattern of fat deposition in women with advancing age, due to centralization of adipose tissue.
Abdominal fat; Women; Aging
