Objective: The prevalence of excess body weight has been reported as two to four times greater in the chronic mentally ill than in the general population. However, there has been a paucity of body composition research with this population. The purpose of this study was to compare with population data the prevalence and distribution of body fat in a group of chronic mentally ill individuals.
Method: An anthropometric profile consisting of height, weight, waist and hip girths was completed on 29 males and 23 females.
Results: Consistent with other groups with excess adiposity, measures of skinfold thickness were generally unreliable. The biceps was the only site where a reliable skinfold measure was possible in all subjects. More than half of the males and three-quarters of the females had a waist circumference in excess of 100 cm.
Conclusions: There were significantly higher levels of relative body weight and excess abdominal adiposity in the study group compared with the wider population. A brief anthropometric protocol of waist and hip girths and biceps skinfold in addition to height and weight, rather than the use of weight alone as an indicator of adiposity, is recommended.
Australasian Society for the Study of Obesity.Healthy weight Australia: a national obesity strategy. Sydney: Australasian Society for the Study of Obesity, 1995.
2.
GordonHLLawAHohmanKEGrothC.The problem of overweight in hospitalised psychotic patients. Psychiatric Quarterly1960; 34:69–82.
3.
StedmanTWelhamJ.The distribution of adipose tissue in female inpatients receiving antipsychotic drugs. British Journal of Psychiatry1993; 162:249–250.
4.
GopalaswamyKMorganR.Too many chronically mentally disabled patients are too fat. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica1985; 72:254–258.
5.
MartinezJAVelascoJJUrbistondoMDEffects of pharmacological therapy on anthropometric and biochemical status of male and female institutionalized psychiatric patients. Journal of the American College of Nutrition1994; 13:192–197.
6.
SilverstoneTSmithGGoodallE.Prevalence of obesity in patients receiving antipsychotic drugs. British Journal of Psychiatry1988; 153:214–217.
7.
JensenMDResearch techniques for body composition assessment. Journal of the American Dietetic Association1992; 92:454–460.
8.
NortonKIWhittinghamNOCarterJELKerrDAGoreCJMeasurement techniques in anthropometry. In: NortonKIOldsTS, eds. Anthropometry and anthropometric profiling. Lidcombe: Nolds Sports Scientific, 1994:1–31.
9.
MartinezJAUrbistondoMDAnthropometric measurements of an institutionalised psychiatric population. Alimentary Nutrition and Metabolism1990; 11:29–39.
10.
LeanMEJHanTSMorrisonCEWaist circumference as a measure for indicating the need for weight management. British Medical Journal1995; 311:158–161.
11.
Pilot survey of the fitness of Australians. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1990.
12.
National Heart Foundation.Risk factor prevalence survey no. 3, 1989: cities analysis. Canberra: National Health Foundation of Australia and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1991.
13.
GrayDSBrayGABauerMSkinfold thickness measurements in obese subjects. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition1990; 51:571–577.
14.
DeurenbergPWeststrateJASeidellJCBody mass index as a measure of fatness: age- and sex- specific prediction formulas. British Journal of Nutrition1991; 65:105–114.
15.
WahlqvistMLObesity: real and fancied concerns from the public point of view. Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics1990; 47:8–12.
