INTRODUCTION: Obesity is a serious international health problem that increases the risk of severe common disease. Obesity has been described as an epidemic because of the rapid increase in the number of overweight and obese individuals over the past 20 years. Obesity can occur at any age as long as the person is under positive energy balance. More females than males were found to be overweight due to effect of female sex and maternal BMI on adulthood obesity. METHODOLOGY: an experimental study in which 15 randomly selected young obese women of 20-23 years of age in Tirupati are orally supplemented daily with 20 ml of virgin coconut oil for 60 days. All patients underwent nutritional status and biochemical investigation throughout the study to see the effect of VCO on Body Mass Index and serum cholesterol. RESULTS: After supplementation of Virgin coconut oil (VCO) in
selected subjects there was decrease in Body mass index (BMI) levels from 30.5170 kg/m2 to 28.6537 kg/m2 with the difference of 1.8633 kg/m2 and t-value is 9.6286 and p-value is 0.01. This reveals that results is statistically significant at 1% level. Same trend was seen in serum cholesterol from 248.20 mg/dl to 227.67 mg/dl with the difference of 20.53 mg/dl, t-value is 6.8814 and p-value 0.01. This reveals that reduction is statistically significant at 1% level. Because Virgin coconut oil consists high amount of lauric acid, tocopherol, , tocotrienols, and polyphenols, which increase the action of fraction of fat oxidative enzyme with this the raises the metabolic rate, fat oxidation, energy expenditure and decreases the fat storage, body fat mass in various parts of the body and
maintain the normal cholesterol levels. CONCLUSION: Obesity is becoming more common with an alarming rate. The incidents of obesity are double with 2015. Obesity prevalence in young women, due to the several factors mainly socioeconomic, eating habits and sedentary activities, which predisposing to several chronic diseases mainly heart diseases by elevated cholesterol status.
Uniqueness and beneficial effect of Virgin coconut oil, consists of high level of Lauric acid, tocopherol, tocotrienols, and polyphenols are better the nutritional status by reducing BMI and cholesterol status by increased fat oxidation.
Key words: Beneficial effect, virgin coconut oil, Serum cholesterol
|
