Abdominal obesity increases metabolic risk factors in non-obese adults: a Hungarian cross-sectional study

Anita Lukács,Zsuzsanna Máté,Magor Papp,Róza Ádány,Katalin Virág,Andrea Szabó,Edit Paulik,János Sándor,Edina Horváth

doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7839-1

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing worldwide. Adults with abdominal obesity have been reported to have increased risk of cardiometabolic disorders.The aim of this study was to examine whether non-obese subjects (body mass index (BMI) < 25 kg/m2) with abdominal obesity examined in the framework of the Swiss–Hungarian Cooperation Programme had increased metabolic risk compared to participants without abdominal obesity.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out in 5228 non-obese individuals. Data were collected between July 2012 and February 2016. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis and multiple logistic regression models were applied, odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) being the outcomes.Results607 (11.6%) out of the 5228 non-obese individuals had abdominal obesity. The correlation analysis indicated that the correlation coefficients between BMI and waist circumference (WC) were 0.610 in males and 0.526 in females. In this subgroup, the prevalence of high systolic blood pressure, high fasting blood glucose, and high total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly higher. The logistic regression model based on these data showed significantly higher risk for developing high systolic blood pressure (OR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.20–1.94), low HDL cholesterol (OR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.09–3.89), and high trygliceride level (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.27–2.16).ConclusionsThere was a very high, significant, positive correlation between WC and BMI. Abdominal obesity was found to be strongly related to certain metabolic risk factors among non-obese subjects. Hence, measuring waist circumference could be recommended as a simple and efficient tool for screening abdominal obesity and related metabolic risk even in non-obese individuals.

Highlights

The prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing worldwide
In Hungary, many people live with a high risk of metabolic syndrome, which promotes the development of atherosclerotic vascular diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) [5], mainly due to abdominal obesity
In our study, we aimed to examine whether non-obese subjects with no chronic conditions but abdominal obesity had a higher chance of having related metabolic risk factors, such as elevated blood pressure, high fasting blood glucose, high cholesterol, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL), low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and high triglyceride levels, compared to persons with no abdominal obesity

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing worldwide. Adults with abdominal obesity have been reported to have increased risk of cardiometabolic disorders. In Hungary, many people live with a high risk of metabolic syndrome, which promotes the development of atherosclerotic vascular diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) [5], mainly due to abdominal obesity. The prevalence of the latter was 38% in males and 55%. Subjects with abdominal obesity were more likely to have a metabolic syndrome compared to those without abdominal obesity, WC should be measured and used in conjunction with BMI to assess and predict metabolic risk, where possible, according to the conclusion of a recent report of the World Health Organization (WHO) [8]

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