Abstract
BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the prevalence of abdominal obesity and its association with the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a randomly selected Chinese sample.MethodsA population-based sample of 3,600 residents aged 18–80 years was selected randomly from 5 Chinese cities. Demographic information, and waist and hip circumference measurements were obtained. The Mandarin version of the Short Form 36 Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36) was used to assess the HRQOL. Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were used as measures of abdominal obesity, and the prevalence of abdominal obesity and its association with HRQOL were analysed.ResultsAmong the 3,184 participants included in the analysis, the prevalence of abdominal obesity was about 45% in both women and men as evaluated by WC, and about 40% in women and 33% in men as evaluated by WHR. The prevalence varied by city, region, age, marital status, education level, family income, smoking, and the presence of chronic diseases. Both WC and WHR increased with age, and men had larger WC and WHR than women in most age groups. In women, abdominal obesity, as determined by both WC and WHR, was associated with meaningful impairments in 4 physical health scales and 2 mental health scales. In men, abdominal obesity, as determined by WC, was associated with 1 physical health scale and 1 mental health scale, and it was associated with 2 physical health scales based on WHR.ConclusionsPhysical health, but not mental health, was more vulnerable to impairment with abdominal obesity, and the impairments varied between genders. Public health agencies should emphasize that abdominal obesity impairs physical health.
Highlights
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of abdominal obesity and its association with the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a randomly selected Chinese sample
Physical health, but not mental health, was more vulnerable to impairment with abdominal obesity, and the impairments varied between genders
Public health agencies should emphasize that abdominal obesity impairs physical health
Summary
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of abdominal obesity and its association with the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a randomly selected Chinese sample. It was reported that the overall prevalence of obesity in China increased from. Research, and public health fields, body mass index (BMI) has been commonly used to define overall obesity. A key component of obesity, can be assessed using simple measures such as waist circumference (WC) or waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) [3,4,5], and it is a stronger predictor of obesityrelated morbidity and mortality risk than overall obesity as assessed by BMI [6,7,8]. Some studies have recommended WC as a better indicator of abdominal obesity and a better predictor of disease risk than other anthropometric measurements [4,9,10]. According to Esmaillzadeh et al, WHR was a better predictor of cardiovascular risk than BMI and WC in Iranian adult men [11]
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