High risk of cardiometabolic in China

Aihua Jia from the Department of Endocrinology at Xijing Hospital which is based in Xi’an, China and the colleagues published in the study background that populations with normal weight obesity are often neglected and the reason being that they do not have obvious change when it comes to the body shape.

However, it has been reported by a number of studies that there is an increase in cardiovascular risks in a population with normal-weight obesity, and this may also increase the risk of death caused by cardiovascular disease-disease in the elderly people.

Moreover, such population tend to develop several characteristic metabolic statuses like low-grade proinflammatory state, insulin resistance, increased oxidative stress and lipid abnormalities, which can result into higher chances of risks of metabolic syndrome and c cardiovascular disease associated deaths of individuals.

How the study was done

About 23,748 Chinese adults were analyzed by Jia and colleagues. The minimum age of those who were analyzed was 20 years old and their available body fat percentage measurement recorded (accessed via biological impedance method) before they could be allowed to participate in the 2007-2008 China National Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders study. Out of the total participants, 9,633 were men while the rest were women.

As per the definition is given by the researchers, normal-weight obesity is the excess body fat which is found in at least 24% of men and 33% of women in the setting of the normal BMI which was defined to range between 18.5kg/m2 and 23.9 kg/m2. In their classifications, researchers grouped patients as thin-with their BMI less than 18.5kg/m2; normal weight –with their BMI less than24kg/m2; overweight- with their BMI less than 28kg/m2 and obese – with their BI greater or equivalent to 28kg/m2.

An oral glucose tolerance test was conducted on all the participants, and fasting blood samples were provided for the purpose of lipid profile measurements and answered questionnaires regarding personal history, family history, and unhealthy behavior.

In order to predict the probability of CV events (Sudden death or fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction) within ten years to come, the researchers used the Framingham risk score.

Study Findings

About 7.46% people were considered to have normal-weight obesity within the cohort of 1,771 participants, while 9,988 participants were found to have the normal weight, this constitutes to 42.06% with  35.61% of the participants (8,457 participants) being overweight and the rest 14.87% had obesity- this is approximately 14.87%.

Researchers made observations that adult in the normal-weight obesity group was having a high prevalence rate of Framingham risk score of above 10% or equivalent, metabolic syndrome and hypertension versus the normal weight group. They also observed graduant increases in the prevalence rates of these conditions.