High prevalence of abdominal, intra-abdominal and subcutaneous adiposity and clustering of risk factors among urban Asian Indians in North India. PLoS One 2011

Objective: To assess the prevalence of abdominal obesity including intra-abdominal and subcutaneous adiposity along with other cardiometabolic risk factors in urban Asian Indians living in New Delhi. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological descriptive study with 459 subjects (217 males and 242 females), representing all socio-economic strata in New Delhi. The anthropometric profile [body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and skinfold thickness], fasting blood glucose (FBG) and lipid profile were recorded. Percent body fat (%BF), total abdominal fat (TAF), intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SCAT) were quantified using predictive equations for Asian Indians. Results: The overall prevalence of obesity was high [by BMI (.25 kg/m2), 50.1%]. The prevalence of abdominal obesity (as assessed by WC) was 68.9%, while that assessed by TAF was 70.8%. Increased IAAT was significantly higher in females (80.6%) as compared to males (56.7%) (p = 0.00) with overall prevalence being 69.3%. The overall prevalence of high SCAT was 67.8%, more in males (69.1%) vs. females (66.5%, p = 0.5). The prevalence of type 2 diabetes, the metabolic syndrome and hypertension was 8.5%, 45.3 % and 29.2%, respectively. Hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and low levels o