Oxidative Stress in Non-Obese & Obese Young Healthy Adults

Introduction: Obesity causes various diseases due to systemic oxidative stress. Young healthy obese are unaware of oxidative burden in their body. Total oxidant status (TOS) is a marker of oxidative stress in obesity. Aims & Objectives: This study was planned to determine and compare levels of TOS in young healthy non obese and obese, males and females and individuals with active versus sedentary lifestyle. Place and duration of study: This study was conducted over one month duration at six women and co-ed colleges of Lahore. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted on samples collected within one month from 160 healthy males and females, aged 20 to 40 years at APWA College, Lahore College Womens University, Government College University, Gulberg College, PAC Lahore, Ameeruddin Medical College Lahore (n=30 each college). The participants were divided into two groups based on the respondents BMI. TOS was measured colorimetrically. Data was analyzed using IBM-SPSS version 25. Mann Whitney U test compared TOS levels between non obese and obese subjects. Results: Fifty percent of the subjects had a normal BMI while 50% were obese according to the Asian Pacific criteria for BMI.Fifty-two percent of the population were males while forty-eight percent of the population was females. Group I (non obese) consisted of 55% males and 45% females with a significant difference in the levels of TOS. The population in Group II (obese) comprised of 50% males and females each also showing significant difference. Thirty-six percent (n=58) of the total population had active lifestyle while sixty-four percent (n=102) of the population had a sedentary lifestyle. While in Group 1(non obese) (64%) had an active lifestyle whereas the rest were sedentary. In comparison only 9% of group II subjects (obese) had an active lifestyle while the remainder were sedentary. A significant difference in level of TOS were seen when compared between subjects with active versus sedentary lifestyle in respective groups. A significant difference (p=0.03) was seen when TOS was compared between subjects with Active lifestyle 4.15(3.17- 5.42) µmol/lversus subjects with sedentary lifestyle 4.9(3.70-7.22) µmol/l. Conclusion: Increased levels of TOS were seen in young healthy obese as compared to non-obese. Both non obese and obese females had higher levels of TOS in comparison to males due to greater levels of body fat percentage. Subjects with a sedentary lifestyle have raised levels of TOS in comparison to subjects with active lifestyle.