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Do centrally obese Chinese with normal BMI have increased risk of metabolic disorders?

International Journal of Obesity volume 29, pages 818–825 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference are highly correlated. One or the other predicts the metabolic syndromes better, depending on characteristic of the population studied, such as age, gender, and ethnicity. We examined the impact of isolated central obesity, isolated BMI elevation, and the combined type of obesity on metabolic disorders, in order to shed lights on the strategy of obesity screening.

METHODS:

The study subjects were Chinese aged 20 or above residing in Taiwan. Their data were derived from two large-scale studies: the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT 1993–1996) and the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Two-township Study (CVDFACTS, 1994–1997). In evaluating the relations between obesity and health risks, the cut-points of BMI (≥24 kg/m2 for overweight) and waist circumference (≥80 cm for women and ≥90 cm for men) recommended by Department of Health in Taiwan for Taiwanese people were used to define various types of obesity.

RESULTS:

We found that there was a small but nontrivial proportion (1.7% for men and 4.0% for women) of Taiwanese people for whom BMI was in the normal range but their waist circumferences were above normal. These people were at a higher risk of developing metabolic syndromes than those with isolated BMI elevation. Their risks were close to that of the combined type.

CONCLUSIONS:

In order to screen out high-risk obese individuals, isolated centrally obese subjects should not be overlooked. Therefore, we recommend to assess waist circumference in parallel to, not just sequential to the measurement of BMI in Chinese.

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Acknowledgements

The survey was supported by grants (DOH-83-FS-41, DOH-84-FS-11, DOH-85-FS-11, DOH-86-FS-11, and DOH-83-TD-015, DOH-84-TD-006) from Department of Health, Taiwan, Republic of China, and grant (NHRI-EX93-9225PP) from National Health Research Institute, Taipei, Taiwan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Nan-Kong, Taipei, Taiwan

    W-T Yeh, C-J Yeh, H-J Chen & W-H Pan

  2. Division of Health Policy Research, National Health Research Institute, Taichung, Taiwan

    H-Y Chang

  3. Department of Public Health, College of Health Care and Management, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    C-J Yeh

  4. Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    K-S Tsai

  5. Institute of Microbiology and Biochemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

    W-H Pan

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  1. W-T Yeh
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Correspondence to W-H Pan.

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Yeh, WT., Chang, HY., Yeh, CJ. et al. Do centrally obese Chinese with normal BMI have increased risk of metabolic disorders?. Int J Obes 29, 818–825 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802975

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