Department of Nutrition Physiology and Biochemistry, National Institute of Food and Nutrition, Warsaw, Poland.
The study was carried out on 102 obese and overweight women, average age 41.5 years, and 33 control non-obese women matched for age. Fasting venous blood vitamins (ascorbic acid, tocopherol, retinol, carotenes, thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid, pyridoxine), lipids (total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, total lipids) and haematological indices were determined. Significantly lower serum antioxidant vitamin levels and a higher prevalence of vitamin deficiency were found in the study group. The study confirmed the high risk of dyslipoproteinaemia and the high frequency of elevated blood pressure in obese women. A correlation between ascorbic acid status, degree of obesity and the incidence of elevated blood pressure was demonstrated.