Assessment of body composition, functional capacity and pulmonary function in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is related to a low body mass index (BMI), reduced functional capacity and reduced bone density, thus justifying the importance of evaluating all of these parameters in the patients with the disease. This is a cross-sectional study, with sample consisting of 20 patients who performed measurement of body composition by bioelectrical impedance, evaluation of functional capacity by the distance traveled in the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT) and assessment of severity of obstruction by spirometry. Significant differences were found between the travelled and scheduled distance in the ISWT (p