The association of body weight and circumferences with metabolic risk factors in Chinese men and women

One nation facing a dramatic rise in the prevalence of adult overweight and obesity is China, where rates have increased approximately 400% in the past 20 years. This research examined issues related to the risks of adiposity in Chinese men and women including the associations between body mass index (BMI) and incident hypertension compared to American Blacks and American Whites; the interaction between BMI, age and parental history of hypertension on hypertension prevalence; and finally the influence of hip circumference on the components of the metabolic syndrome.;Data were from Chinese Asian, American Black and American White men and women from three prospective, observational studies of the natural history and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Chinese Asians (young and middle-aged adults) were from the People's Republic of China (PRC) study, American Black and American White young adults were from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study and American Black and American White middle-aged adults were from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Our goal was to predict risk differences and since binomial and Poisson models did not converge, we fit logistic regression models and calculated the adjusted standardized estimates using the "prvalue" command in Stata (Version 10.0).;The effects of BMI on hypertension incidence were stronger in Chinese Asians compared to American Blacks and Whites; effect modification of the BMI-hypertension relationship by age and parental history of hypertension status was detected; and despite the relative leanness of the Chinese population, a larger hip circumference was associated with a lower risk of incident metabolic risk factors when controlling for overall adiposity. These data expand on our understanding of the impact of elevated body weight and a larger hip circumference in a Chinese population.