BACKGROUND The relationship between obesity and hypertension varies with geographical area, race and definitions of obesity. Our study aimed to investigate the prevalence of obesity using standard Chinese criteria based on the body mass index (BMI) and the waist circumference (WC) and to examine the association between obesity and hypertension among middle-aged and elderly people in Jinan city....

This cross-sectional study evaluates the prevalence and extent to which high risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with general obesity and central obesity among college students in Punta Arenas, Chile. Risk for OSA was assessed using the Berlin Questionnaire and trained research nurses measured anthropometric indices. Overweight was defined as body mass index (BMI) of 25-29.9 kg...

OBJECTIVES To examine the association between overweight, central obesity and cigarette smoking (total amount of cigarettes smoked [TACS] and status). DESIGN Population-based cross-sectional study. SETTING Administrative villages and neighborhoods (n=45) randomly selected from three urban districts and two rural counties in Nanjing City, China. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A representative sample...

BACKGROUND Central obesity, defined by increased waist circumference or waist:hip ratio (WHR), is associated with increased cardiovascular events, including heart failure. However, the pathophysiological link between central obesity and adverse cardiovascular outcomes remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that central obesity and larger WHR are independently associated with worse cardiac m...

OBJECTIVES Lifestyle factors are well-known important modifiable risk factors for obesity; the association between tobacco smoking and central obesity, however, is largely unknown in the Chinese population. This study examined the relationship between smoking and central obesity in 0.5 million Chinese adults, a population with a low prevalence of general obesity, but a high prevalence of centra...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between blood sugar level and obesity, and the interplay of socioeconomic change, and to investigate the efficacy of different obesity indices and age in predicting diabetes. METHODS Cross-sectional study was carried out among 603 adult Tangkhul Nagas of NE India. Anthropometric measurements, random blood sugar level, general and regional obesity indices ...

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of different cultural environments on the development of obesity by examining the association of central obesity, lifestyle, and selected coronary risk factors among people with identical Japanese genetic backgrounds living in Japan and Brazil. One hundred and four native Japanese and 286 Japanese-Brazilians residing in Brazil and Jap...

Obesity is a resilient and complex chronic disease. One potential causative factor in the obesity syndrome is leptin resistance. Leptin behaves as a potent anorexic and energy-enhancing hormone in most young or lean animals, but its effects are diminished or lacking in the obese state associated with a normal genetic background. Emerging evidence suggests that leptin resistance predisposes the ...