The cut-off points of body mass index and waist circumference for predicting metabolic risk factors: findings from the China Kadoorie Biobank study

Journal article

Objective To assess the association of BMI and waist circumference (WC) with metabolic risk factors, and confirm the appropriate cut-off points of BMI and WC among Chinese adults.

Methods After excluding participants with missing or extreme measurement values, as well as individuals with self-reported histories of cancer, a total of 501 201 adults in baseline and 19 201 adults in the second re-survey from the China Kadoorie Biobank were included. The associations of BMI and WC with metabolic risk factors were estimated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were conducted to assess the appropriate cut-off values of BMI and WC to predict the risk of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and clustering of risk factors.

Results The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and clustering of risk factors all presented ascending trends with the increasing levels of BMI or WC. Defined as the points on the ROC curve where Youden's index reached the highest, the appropriate overweight cut-off points of BMI were around 24.0 kg/m2 both in men and women, and the points of WC were around 85 cm in men and 80 to 85 cm in women. With specificity 90% for identification of risk factors, the appropriate obese cut-off points of BMI were around 28.0 kg/m2 both in men and women, with the range of 27.0 to 28.9 kg/m2.

Conclusions The cut-off points for overweight and obesity recommended by Coorperative Meta-analysis Group of China Obesity Task Force was verified in the large sample survey conducted more recently. The cut-off points of BMI were 24.0 and 28.0 kg/m2 for overweight and obesity, and the cut-off point of WC was 85 cm in men and 80 to 85 cm in women for central obesity.

Authors: Meng, G; Yuxia, W; Jun, L; Du, H; Chen, Z

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: China Medicine Association
• Journal: Chinese Journal of Epidemiology
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 1533-1540
• Publication date: 2020-12-20
• Acceptance date: 2019-11-11
• DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0254-6450.2019.12.006
• ISSN: 0254-6450
• Language: Chinese
• Keywords: FFR