Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings April 2014, Volume 27, Number 2 | Page 20
Table 3. Conditional proportion of US population with oversized waist circumference in each ethnic group, stratified by
weight category and gender distribution, based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
% Oversized waist circumference
Ethnicity
Mexican
American
Weight
category
1999–2000
Male
Female
2001–2002
Male
Female
2003–2004
Male
Female
2005–2006
Male
Female
2007–2008
Male
Female
2009–2010
Male
Female
Normal
7.0
46.8
9.4
50.6
9.5
53.1
8.8
59.4
7.3
57.0
9.0
55.7
Obese
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
99.4
100.0
100.0
100.0
Overweight
67.2
94.0
65.5
96.6
74.2
99.4
68.4
98.0
67.8
100.0
75.2
99.0
Underweight
0.0
8.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
56.0
78.9
51.5
80.6
58.6
85.3
59.4
87.8
62.2
86.3
67.2
88.1
Subtotal∗
Other
Hispanic
Normal
16.7
34.9
8.3
50.0
5.0
53.1
9.5
44.4
8.8
47.7
6.5
54.1
Obese
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
91.7
100.0
100.0
100.0
98.8
100.0
99.0
100.0
Overweight
66.7
92.7
69.0
97.0
58.8
96.2
68.0
95.7
74.4
99.2
64.9
100.0
Underweight
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
53.2
76.3
53.2
83.6
48.3
76.7
83.6
59.2
82.2
Subtotal∗
Non-Hispanic Normal
White
Obese
Overweight
Underweight
Subtotal∗
Non-Hispanic Normal
Black
Obese
Overweight
Underweight
—
78.5
19.9
49.1
16.6
47.4
20.2
56.9
17.7
49.9
20.2
57.3
17.6
58.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
99.4
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
99.8
100.0
81.8
96.8
85.1
97.1
85.0
98.3
83.4
98.2
83.2
99.5
81.2
99.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
2.3
4.3
3.4
61.8
76.4
66.0
73.8
68.2
79.2
0.0
6.0
41.6
3.6
35.0
7.7
41.1
4.9
32.4
100.0
100.0
98.4
100.0
98.0
100.0
100.0
64.7
91.8
59.0
90.8
52.6
97.8
53.1
—
2.9
0.0
2.3
80.2
68.5
81.5
8.9
56.8
5.3
44.3
100.0
99.0
100.0
96.5
100.0
96.4
59.6
98.8
63.4
99.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
85.2
46.0
81.6
52.4
86.9
Normal
8.3
52.9
2.9
43.6
8.3
44.0
0.0
48.3
Obese
Other
0.0
6.7
76.5
45.3
Subtotal∗
—
—
0.0
83.3
0.0
—
0.0
5.3
0.0
0.0
87.8
53.8
87.9
6.7
44.0
17.3
52.6
—
100.0
100.0
90.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Overweight
50.0
92.3
57.1
96.7
61.8
100.0
75.0
90.5
63.2
100.0
58.7
95.8
Underweight
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
44.1
69.8
37.9
69.0
48.4
61.1
67.5
47.0
68.2
Subtotal∗
∗Percentages
64.6
—
are weighted estimates of the population in each ethnic category; therefore, columns do not add up to 100%.
individuals had abnormal waist circumference (P = 0.000). In
the “other ethnicity category,” which included Asians and multiracial individuals, a low abdominal obesity was present as well,
but not at a significant level (P = 0.38), which reflected a lower
prevalence of MS in this group.
DISCUSSION
The IDF definition of MS places emphasis on the waist
circumference and is highly associated with cardiovascular risk.
Although women have a greater chance of having high abdominal obesity and have a higher prevalence of MS, they are at lower
statistical risk for heart disease than men. The prevalence of
MS was four times higher in women in earlier years, although
the last two surveys show an equal prevalence of MS for men
and women. These last two survey years were heavily weighted
with underweight women in all ethnicities in the US popula94
—
tion. Women had better health status than men in most of the
MS indicators, including blood pressure, fasting glucose, and
triglycerides in 2008 to 2010. A similar finding was confirmed
in Erin et al’s study using NCEP criteria (7, 8). MS disparity in
genders was consistently significant among African Americans.
Black men had a significantly lower prevalence of MS than any
other group, including Black women for 12 years and Whites
and Mexican Americans from 1999 to 2008. Mexican American women and Black women were more likely than White
women to have higher waist circumference and MS. The “other
ethnicity” group, including multiracial individuals and Asians,
had the lowest prevalence of abdominal obesity but not the
lowest prevalence of MS. Based on these findings, adiposity
can be expressed with varying distributions among different
ethnicities yet affect the prevalence of MS and cardiovascular
disease differently.
Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings
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