Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and optimal waist circumference cut-off points for adults in Beijing

BackgroundIn the modified ATP III definition for metabolic syndrome (MS), the cut-off values for central obesity were set to ≥90 cm for male and ≥80 cm for women. Recently, a new Chinese definition for central obesity was set to ≥90 cm for male and ≥85 cm for women according to the corresponding BMI value of 25 kg/m2.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to explore the optimal WC cut-off points to reflect the cluster of multiple risk factors for adults in Beijing.MethodThe data collected during the surveillance of risk factors for non-communicable diseases in Beijing 2005 were used, with a total of 16,711 adults studied. Subjects with two or more components from the modified ATP III definition other than central obesity were considered to have multiple risk factors.ResultsThe optimal WC cut-off points were 87 cm in men and 80 cm for women. When applied the WC advised definition for MS, the age-standardized prevalence was 38.0% for male and 32.3% for women, which is significantly higher than using the original one for men (34.7% vs 32.3%, P < 0.001).ConclusionThe present study indicated that optimal waist circumference cut-off points were lower than that proposed in the modified ATP III definition, especially for men.