Waist girth does not predict metabolic complications in severely obese men

Abstract

The epidemic of obesity has received considerable attention because of its increasing prevalence and its deleterious impact on health. In this regard, the metabolic syndrome has been recognized as a prevalent cause of cardiovascular disease, and the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines have proposed clinical tools for the identification of individuals characterized by this syndrome. However, there is considerable metabolic heterogeneity among equally overweight/ obese individuals. While some patients show a relatively “normal” metabolic risk profile despite being obese, others who are moderately overweight can nevertheless be characterized by metabolic complications. Thus, it is not uncommon to find severely obese patients with minimal changes in their metabolic risk profile, suggesting that they may be at lower cardiovascular disease risk than what could be expected from their massive obesity. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between selected features of the metabolic syndrome and waist circumference as a crude marker of abdominal obesity in moderately and severely obese men.