Résumé
A group of 47 obese women aged 20-50 years was studied, where age, height and weight matched with another group of 34 obese women after they had followed a mixed diet restricted to about 1000 kcal/day for 3 months. The study aimed to clarify the impact of obesity and dieting on calcium [Ca], potassium [K], and sodium [Na] homeostasis. Numerically, the lowest serum calcium values recorded for all the participants were those of severely obese control women [BMI >40] who also significantly recorded lower serum potassium values than those of milder degrees of obesity. The dieters groups which also comprised the same and all degrees of obesity did not show any significant change in the mean serum values of either calcium or potassium. Slight nonsignificant elevations of the mean serum sodium levels were recorded for the obese dieters over the obese controls, although individually a higher percentage of obese non-dieting women had a level >146 mg/l. It was concluded that obesity, especially that of severe type leads to alteration in some mineral homeostasis, especially that of potassium and calcium and that food rich in these elements must be included in slimming diets