Vitamin D is a fat-soluble prohormone that is not only important for bone mineral metabolism, but also plays a crucial role in various physiological functions essential for general health, due to its specific receptor present in almost all cells. Among its beneficial effects are the improvement of the immune response, insulin secretion and the prevention of certain tumor processes. However, hypovitaminosis D is highly prevalent in Latin America and in Ecuador the presence of this problem has been confirmed in a large part of the population, especially in adult women. Objective: to evaluate the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in women between 35 and 50 years old who work at the National University of Loja. In addition, the results obtained were related to age ranges and the possible relationship with the body mass index of the patients was evaluated. Methodology: quantitative, non-experim...

Objective: determine anthropometric indices as predictors of obesity and metabolic risk in students of the Bernardo Valdivieso–Loja Millennium Educational Unit. Methodology: Descriptive study, cross-sectional cohort, prospective, quantitative approach, population of 281 adolescents from 14 to 18 years old; by taking anthropometric measurements of height (cm) and weight (kg) to obtain BMI; the ICE by dividing the waist circumference by the height; and waist and hip circumference was calculated to obtain the WHR, determining the risk of metabolic syndrome (MS). Results: according to the BMI, they showed that 80.43% (n=226) have a normal nutritional status, with a greater tendency in women; followed by overweight 11.39% (n=11) higher in men; low weight 4.63% (n=13) predominantly in women; grade I obesity 2.49% (n=7) higher in men; grade II 0.71% (n=2) for both sexes and grade III 0.36% (n...