The association of obesity and liver enzyme activities in a student population at increased risk for cardiovascular disease

Background: It has been reported that obesity is associated with metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, cardiovascular risk but also with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents is increasing rapidly all over the world. The aim of this study was to analyze the value of liver enzymes: AST, ALT and gGT in a group of obese students in order to establish their correlation to anthropometric parameters such as: BMI (body mass index), WC (waist circumference), HC (hip circumfer­ence), and WHR (waist-to-hip ratio) compared to non-obese students who comprised the control group (CG). Methods: In this study, 238 students from the University of Novi Sad of both sexes (126 men and 112 women) with a mean age of 22.32 ± 1.85 years were included. According to the body mass index (BMI) lower and higher than 25 kg/m2 and waist circumference (WC) lower and higher than 94 cm (80 cm for females) the whole group of 238 students was divided into 2 subgroups: the obese group at increased risk for CVD (Group 1) and the group at lower risk for CVD (Group 2). AST, ALT and gGT activities were determined in fasting blood samples. Results: Statistical processing data revealed significantly higher values of AST, ALT and gGT in the group of students with BMI>25 kg/m2, WC>94 cm for males and WC>80 cm for females, HC>108 cm for males and HC>111 cm for females, and WHR>0.90 for males and WHR>0.80 for females (P<0.001). Significant association was established Conclusions: Obese students with higher BMI, WC, HC and WHR values have higher liver enzyme activities and a higher chance to develop NAFLD in the future.