Prevalence of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Aboriginals in Southeastern Taiwan- A Hospital-based Study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the aboriginal population based in southeastern Taiwan. One thousand two hundred and twenty-six subjects older than 20 years of age (658 male; 568 female) were recruited between May 2007 and April 2008. A simple questionnaire was carried out to take their back ground information and medical history. Biochemistry study including cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), blood pressure (BP), and fasting plasma glucose were tested on each participant. Their weight, height, and waist circumference were also taken. Overweight and obesity were defined as a body mass index (BMI)≧24 and≧27kg/m^2, respectively. Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference ≧90cm for men and ≧80cm for women, respectively. The diagnosis of MetS was based on the Adult Treatment Panels of The Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP ATPIII) modified for Asians. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 25.8% and 39.8% for men, and 21.7% and 41.5% for women, respectively. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was 49.7% for men and 77.3% for women (P＜0.001). The overall prevalence of MetS was 58.7%, with a higher prevalence (68.5%) in women than men (50.3%) (p＜0.001). A crossover point of the prevalence between men and women in the group aged 40-49 was noticed. About two-thirds of the aborigines older than 20 years of age in southeastern Taiwan were either overweight or obese, and more than half of the population had MetS. In comparison to other ethnic groups, young women had a higher prevalence of abdominal obesity, which could lead to a higher prevalence of MetS before menopause and could constitute an emerging public health problem.