Objective: To establish relationship between, body composition, anthropometric measurements and physical activity levels with hypothyroidism. Material and methods: The study was carried out in Pantnagar area of Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand on 150 female subjects of age between 21 to 50 years, selected by random sampling. The plan of study was carried out in two phases. Basic anthropometric measurements such as weight, height, waist and hip circumference measurements were taken using standard methods. Body composition of the subjects was determined using bioelectrical impedance and physical activity levels of the subjects was also determined in the first phase. Blood samples of the subjects suspected to have hypothyroidism (n=30) on the basis of symptoms, anthropometric measurements and body composition analysis were also collected for estimation of thyroid hormone levels in the second phase. Results: A significant positive correlation was seen (p<0.01) in case of anthropometric and body composition parameters such as weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, body mass index and fat mass per cent whereas, in case of fat free mass, total body water, protein, mineral and muscle mass per cent a significant negative correlation was seen with hypothyroidism. On the basis of physical activity pattern there was a significant difference between the average number of hours spent by hypothyroid patients (7.6±0.39) and normal subjects (7.40±0.59) in sleeping, physical work like brisk walking, exercise, jogging or yoga and average number of hours spent in leisure (chatting, socialization, watching T.V., reading magazine, listening to music, napping). There was a non-significant positive correlation between disease and hours spent in sleeping, leisure and household work. Whereas, a non-significant negative correlation was seen between disease and hours spent in personal care/ grooming or hygiene, miscellaneous activities, physical work and occupational work. Conclusion: Conclusively it can be said that individuals with high weight, BMI and waist and hip circumference along with the symptoms like weight gain, puffy face, hands and feet, increased need for sleep, constipation, poor muscle tone (muscle hypotonia), impaired cognitive function (brain fog) and inattentiveness, depression etc. should undergo body composition analysis and biochemical screening for thyroid function so that their status is clear. If in such individuals after body composition analysis fat mass per cent is increased along with decreased fat free mass, total body water, protein, mineral and muscle mass per cent and thyroid function tests are not normal mainly with increased TSH levels and with or without reduced T 3 and T 4 levels then the individuals are suffering from hypothyroidism. Key Words : Anthropometric parameters, Body composition parameters, Physical activity, HypothyroidismHow to cite this article : Budhalakoti, Nidhi and Kulshrestha, Kalpana (2015). Hypothyroidism, its association with body composition, anthropometric measure...

Thyroid disorders are among the most common endocrine disorders in India. Hypothyroidism is a very common condition. The condition is more common in women than in men, and its incidence increases with age. For the present study 150 females of 21 to 50 years of age were selected via random sampling from Pantnagar area of Udham Singh Nagar District, Uttarakhand and were interviewed using a predesigned proforma. The subjects mainly belonged to middle and upper income groups. Among 150 subjects, 30 were found to be suffering from hypothyroidism of which six were the newly diagnosed cases who had not started medications. Subjects were assessed for their dietary intakes and differences in the food habits based on food avoidance, food preferences, dietary habits and dietary diversity scores. Based on the analysis of the dietary intakes of normal (n=120) and hypothyroid (n=30) subjects not much difference was found, as was also evident from the dietary diversity scores (where non-significant difference was observed) except for in case of some dietary habits which showed significant differences. The mean dietary diversity scores of hypothyroid and normal subjects were 5.8±0.88 and 6.0±0.90 respectively. Urine samples were also collected for the measurement of urinary iodine concentration of only 30 subjects which included six of the newly detected hypothyroid cases not on medication and the remaining 24 normal subjects. Only 2 hypothyroid subjects and 3 normal subjects were found to be suffering from mild iodine deficiency with values of urinary iodine ranging from 76.5 to 94.6µg/l. Median urine iodine excretion in the present study was 172 µg/l (mean 186.5±58.4 µg/l) indicating iodine sufficiency.