Comportamento da força muscular respiratória em diferentes graus de obesidade

Objectives: Evaluating respiratory muscle strength in obese adult individuals and to compare these values between different degrees of obesity. Methods: Was performed a cross-sectional study consisted of the evaluation of Maximum Inspiratory and Expiratory Pressure (MIP and MEP) and weight and height measurements for the calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI) and classification of obesity according to the World Health Organization (WHO). For statistical analysis, the software SigmaStat 3.5 and the Anova One Way test were used to compare the groups. Results: Of the 142 subjects (85 women and 57 men), 53 were classified as obese at grade I, 25 with grade II obesity and 64 at grade III. The mean age of the individuals was 45.3 ± 11.8 years. MIP values (-207.7 ± 79.2 cm / H2O for males and -164.1 ± 83.5 cm / H2O for females) and for MEP (156.3 ± 50.9 cm / H2O between Males and 118.5 ± 32.3 cm / H2O in females) were significantly higher in subjects with grade III obesity compared to individuals with grade II and grade I obesity (P