Joo Hee Kim, Hyun Sook Oh

Department of Applied Statistics, School of Social Science, Gachon University, Seongnam, Korea


Background: Obesity is a major cause of diabetes and hypertension. Previous studies have analyzed the ef- fects of obesity on diabetes and hypertension by comparing non-obese and obese groups. Here, we inves- tigated the effects of obesity type through comparison between obesity types in obese adults.
Methods: The sample comprised 8,914 adults, classified as obese according to body mass index criteria or waist circumference criteria, selected from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2020). Obesity was classified as abdominal obesity- only, general obesity-only, and abdominal and gen- eral obesity. The effects of obesity type on diabetes and hypertension were analyzed using logistic regression model.
Results: 12.78% of participants exhibited abdominal obesity- only, 22.35% had general obesity-only, and 64.78% had both types. The proportion of patients aged ≥60 years was 57.52% in the abdominal obesity-only group, while 17.12% in the general obesity-only group. The general obesity-only group had a lower incidence of dia- betes than the abdominal obesity-only group (odds ratio [OR], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.47-0.77), and the abdominal and general obesity group had a higher incidence of hypertension than the abdominal obe- sity-only group (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.54-2.15).
Conclusions: Abdominal obesity has a stronger association with diabetes than general obesity, and the risk of hypertension is greatest when both obesity types coexist. Individuals with abdominal obesity-only are likely to be excluded from obesity management, especially when aged ≥60 years. The risk of hypertension is much greater when abdominal and general obesity coexist, emphasizing the need to use both body mass index and waist circumference to define obesity.
Korean J Health Promot 2023;23(3):130-138

Keywords: Abdominal obesity, General obesity, Diabetes, Hypertension