Studies Investigating Relationship Between Cardiovascular Health And Obesity Presented At The Annual Meeting Of The North American Association For The Study Of Obesity

Three clinical studies investigating the relationship between aspects of cardiovascular health - including disease risk and cardiorespiratory fitness - and obesity were presented at this week's annual meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The studies were conducted and presented by investigators from the Rippe Lifestyle Institute, a leading research, communications and health promotion organization, and supported by a research grant from Weight Watchers International.

Body Mass Index (BMI) vs. Waist Circumference

In the study, "Does Body Mass Index (BMI) or Waist Circumference Correlate Better with Risk Factors Associated with Obesity?," (833-P) researchers investigated the relationship between various cardiovascular disease risk factors linked to obesity - including total cholesterol ratio of cholesterol to HDL (TC/HDL), HDL and glucose levels - with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference to determine if either was more strongly related to these cardiovascular risk factors over the other. BMI uses a weight-to-height ratio to measure body fat and waist circumference and is the accepted standard to diagnose obesity.

Study results found significantly stronger relationships between waist circumference and weight (p<0.001), HDL (p<0.01) and TC/HDL (p<0.05), compared to BMI.

Only VO2max, a measure of cardiovascular fitness based on the rate of maximal oxygen uptake, and percentage of body fat had a stronger relationship to BMI than waist circumference (p<0.001). While these results conclude an association between measures of fat and a range of cardiovascular disease risk factors, they further demonstrate that abdominal fat has a higher risk associated with it than overall fatness due to the stronger correlation between risk factors and waist circumference than with BMI. Furthermore, waist circumference can be used as strong diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome - a cluster of medical conditions characterized by insulin resistance and the presence of obesity, abdominal fat, high blood sugar and triglycerides, high blood cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

"Clearly, physicians need to assess overall cardiovascular risk by routinely measuring both BMI and waist circumference in obese patients," said James M. Rippe, M.D., Founder, Director, Rippe Lifestyle Institute, Associate Professor of Cardiology, Tufts University School of Medicine. "However, the measurement of waist circumference is particularly important in the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, since this study shows it has quite a strong relationship with cardiovascular risk factors typically found in the condition."

Link Between High-sensitive CRP, Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Cardiorespiratory Fitness

High sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a protein in the blood that, when elevated, is a strong indicator of cardiovascular risk. While past studies have proven that hs-CRP is elevated in obese individuals, two new studies from the Rippe Lifestyle Institute have separately evaluated the relationship between hs-CRP and diagnostic risk factors for metabolic syndrome and CRP and overall cardiovascular fitness.