Voice characterization of a group of obese women at the Bariatrics Surgery Department at Irmandade Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo

Abstract

The aim of this study is to characterize the voice of a group of obese women, at Bariatrics Surgery Department at Irmandade Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo. This study was performed through the evaluation of the respiratory dynamics, of the oral motor sensorial system, of the perceptual auditive and acoustic analysis of their voice. The study group was composed by 21 women, age ranging from 25 to 45 years old. The results showed the presence of a reduced vital respiratory capacity (67%), an alteration of the oral motor sensorial system (72%), a predominant roughness-breathiness vocal quality (76%) with the presence of an ill-coordinated pneumofonia (67%) and a low fundamental frequency for the female standards. Thus, these data confirm the importance of the vocal tract in the final quality of the voice production.