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Diabetes mellitus is a chronic non-communicable disease that imposes a significant burden on affected individuals and the community. Considerable attention has been given to industrial accidents and ergonomics, however, lifestyle-related diseases among industrial workers have often been neglected. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim to assess the prevalence of obesity/overweight and ascertain the risk of diabetes mellitus among male employees of an industrial unit in South Mumbai. The cross-sectional study was conducted among male employees of an industrial unit in South Mumbai. Family history, exercise patterns, anthropometric measurements and physical vital parameters were recorded. Body composition was assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) was employed to evaluate the risk of diabetes mellitus. In total, 3791 industrial workers participated in the study and 44.5% of participants were above 40 years. Mean height, weight, body mass index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) were 1.67 m, 71.33 kg, 25.99, 90.81 cm and 0.91 respectively. 56.1% individuals had WC more than 90 cm and 79.1% had WHR more than 0.90. 1846 (53%) and 927 (26.6%) participants had moderate and high diabetes risk respectively. The relationship between age, weight, BMI, WC, WHR, body fat mass and fat percentage, and IDRS was statistically significant. A substantial proportion of industrial workers were identified as overweight and at high risk of diabetes mellitus. Consequently, it becomes imperative to offer health education and implement interventions to encourage regular exercise, adopt an active lifestyle, and promote healthy dietary habits among industrial workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) has heterogeneous clinical phenotypes related to different risk of developing diabetes complications. We investigated the correlation between generalized and abdominal adiposity and the prevalence of both micro- and macrovascular complications in Caucasian patients with T2D. We evaluated 769 individuals with T2D consecutively referred to our diabetes center. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist to hip (W/H) ratio, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, lipid profile, smoking habit, diabetes therapy, and micro- and macrovascular complications were recorded. Patients were divided into three groups based on BMI and WC: non-obese with normal WC (nWC, n = 220), non-obese with excess of abdominal fat (AF, n = 260) and obese (Ob, n = 289). We found that nWC, compared with AF and Ob individuals, were predominantly males (p<0.01), had lower HbA1c (p<0.01), diastolic blood pressure (p<0.01), triglycerides (p<0.01), and showed a significantly lower prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) (p = 0.01). The rate of proliferative DR was significantly higher in Ob (13.2 %) compared to the other groups (p = 0.03). Multivariate analyses showed a significantly decreased prevalence of DR in nWC compared to both AF (OR 0.58, 95 CI 0.34–0.96; p = 0.03) and Ob (OR 0.57, 95 CI 0.33–0.98; p = 0.04) individuals. Conversely, DR was associated, mainly in women, to higher WC and W/H ratio. The prevalence of the other diabetes-related complications was similar among the studied groups. In our population, nWC subjects showed a lower prevalence of DR. An increased generalized and abdominal adiposity was associated to a higher prevalence of DR, especially among females. • Adiposity is a key determinant of diabetes-related vascular complications. • The risk for diabetes retinopathy increases in non-obese subjects with abnormal visceral fat. • Females are particularly at risk for retinal injury related to increased visceral fat. • High visceral fat in non-obese subjects is associated to early stages of diabetes retinopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mounting evidences suggests mitochondrial dysfunction as a novel contributor in the pathogenesis of PCOS. Herein, we analyzed mtDNA copy number, a biomarker of mitochondrial function in women with PCOS and non-PCOS participants and study its correlation with their clinical characteristics. In this study, we further analyzed association of 383 mtDNA variants, as reported previously by us, with characteristic traits of PCOS and perform structural analysis of mutated protein. Our results indicate relative mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number to be significantly reduced in women with PCOS compared to non-PCOS group and significantly inversely related to waist to hip ratio (WHR), triglycerides and positively related to high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). After adjustment of the age in the PCOS group, significantly negative correlation of mtDNA copy number with WHR was observed. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis revealed rare, low heteroplasmic mtDNA variants such as 12556G, 1488T, 9200G, 9670G, 3308G, 14480G, 15914T and 5426G to be strongly associated with PCOS related traits. Among these variants, variant 12256G in ND5 gene affected both the flexibility and overall stability of the protein structure. This study is first to reveal significant correlation of mtDNA copy number with WHR in women with PCOS indicating link between mitochondrial dysfunction with central obesity in PCOS. we also first time showed association of rare mtDNA variants with characteristics traits of PCOS highlighting the clinical significance of rare mtDNA variants, which may cumulatively act as early predictors of risk of PCOS and its related comorbidities which may help in the management of PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excess adiposity is associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Amongst the various measures of adiposity, the most appropriate one to predict the risk of diabetes remains debatable. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the ability of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) among Pakistani adults. This was the sub-analysis of a large population based Second National Diabetes Survey of Pakistan (NDSP) 2016–2017. With this survey, 10834 individuals were recruited and 4788 individuals fulfilled the inclusion criteria for this sub-analysis (subjects with missing anthropometric details were excluded). Participants were categorized into two groups; subjects with type 2 DM and subjects without DM. Data of participants was collected via pre-designed detailed questionnaire. Clinical and anthropometric measurements were measured using standardized techniques. Out of 4788 individuals, 3085(64.4%) were non-DM subjects and 1703(35.6%) were type 2 DM subjects with mean age of 39.78 ± 13.79 and 50.38 ± 11.33 years, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association of WC with type 2 diabetes after adjustment for possible confounders. Area under the curve (AUC) of WC was found higher than AUC of BMI and WHR. The findings from second NDSP (2016–2017) demonstrated that WC is a better marker than WHR and BMI in predicting type 2 DM for Pakistani population. • Several anthropometric indices have been used for predicting diabetes. • The results of studies regarding superiority of these indices are inconsistent. • Body mass index, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio are significant predictors of type 2 diabetes. • Waist circumference is the best adiposity measurement in predicting type 2 diabetes among Pakistani adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and breast size are considered important biological features defining female body attractiveness; but their neurophysiological correlates remain largely unknown. To shed light on this issue, behavioral and electroencephalographic responses were recorded while healthy heterosexual men and women completed an oddball task, which was then followed by an attractiveness judgement task. In both cases participants were presented with female body forms that combined 0.6, 0.7 or 0.8 WHRs with small or large breast sizes. Brain activity dynamics were explored using temporal principal component analysis of the event-related potentials data. Variance in the data was explained mostly by eight temporal factors for the oddball task and six for the attractiveness judgement task. Lower WHRs seemed to gather larger processing resources than higher WHRs at early perceptual-related processes during the oddball task. The less attractive WHRs and breast sizes, in contrast, seemed to boost allocation of resources later in the processing stream, which may be due to a negativity bias enhancing evaluation and decision-making processes. This inference is supported by results from the attractiveness judgement task, although the observer's gender may also play a role. Finally, LORETA analysis of the temporal factors indicate that variations in WHR may modulate activation of frontal regions, such as the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex, that are related with reward processing and decision-making; while variations in breast size may influence activity in posterior parietal regions involved in human body perception. This paper highlights the biological importance of female body physical features in defining attractiveness, and the neurophysiological correlates that are implicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Several abdominal obesity measures have been used for prediction of 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk but the superiority of these measures remains controversial. The objective of this study was to assess the predictive ability of abdominal obesity measures for risk of CVD events in an Iranian adult population. Methods We analyzed the data of population based cross-section study of 567 representative samples of adult population aged 40–70 years in Babol, the north of Iran. The demographic data, the anthropometric measures, lipid profile and cardiometabolic risk factors were measured with standard methods. Waist to hip ratio (WHR), waist to height ratio (WHtR), conicity index(CI), abdominal volume index (AVI) and body mass index(BMI)were calculated. The individual 10-year CVD risk was estimated based on ACC/AHA model. ROC analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic ability of different abdominal obesity measures and body mass index (BMI) in predicting of high risk of CVD events. Results About 42.5% of men and 15% of women had at least 10% risk of 10-year cardiovascular events and 21.1% of men and 3.0% of women had ≥20% risk. Except WHR for men, all abdominal obesity measures significant predictors for ≥10% risk CVD risk in both sexes but not BMI. The greater ability of CVD risk prediction was observed by WHtR and CI in both sexes with higher AUC in females compared with men for ≥10% risk. Conclusion WHtR and CI are superior indexes in predicting of high risk of CVD events in both sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives The purpose of this study was to determine the best anthropometric index and calculate the cut-off point for each anthropometric index in predicting the risk of type II diabetes in the population of Yazd city in Iran. Materials and methods The present analytical cross-sectional study was performed using the data from Yazd Health Study (YaHS) with a sample size of 9293. All required data including anthropometric indices BMI, WC, WHR, and WHtR were extracted from the YAHS questionnaire. The ROC curve was employed to compare the predictive power of each anthropometric index in the risk of developing the type II diabetes. Results WHtR in both genders had better predictive power for the risk of type II diabetes (AUC = 0.692 for males and AUC = 0.708 for females), and BMI showed a weaker predictive power (AUC = 0.603 for males and AUC = 0.632 for females), WC and WHR also revealed similar predictive power in the risk of type II diabetes. The cut-off point of BMI for predicting the risk of diabetes was almost identical in both genders (26.2 in males and 25.9 in females), the cut-off point of WC (91 cm), and WHtR (0.56) in males was lower than in the females (96 cm for WC and 0.605 for WHtR). The cut-off point of WHR in males (0.939) was higher than in females (0.892). Conclusion The WHtR showed the best predictor of diabetes risk compared to other indices, and the BMI was the weakest predictor of the risk for diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African ancestry and obesity are associated with higher risk of prostate cancer (PC). In a pilot study, we explored interactions between obesity (as measured by waist to hip ratio (WHR)) and inflammatory SNPs in relation to PC risk among Jamaican men. This study evaluated 87 chemokine and cytokine associated SNPs in obese and normal weight cases (N = 109) and controls (N = 102) using a stepwise penalized logistic regression approach in multivariable analyses. Upon stratification by WHR (normal weight (WHR < 0.90) or obese (WHR ≥ 0.90)), inheritance of CCR6 rs2023305 AG + GG (OR = 1.75, p = 0.007), CCR9 rs7613548 AG + GG (OR = 1.71, p = 0.012) and IL10ra rs2229113 AG + GG (OR = 1.45, p = 0.01) genotypes was associated with increase in overall or low grade (Gleason score < 7) PC risk among normal weight men. These odds were elevated among obese men who possessed the CCR5 rs1799987 AG + GG (OR = 1.95, p = 0.003) and RNASEL rs12135247 CT + TT genotypes (OR = 1.59, p = 0.05). CCR7 rs3136685 AG + GG (p = 0.032) was associated with a 1.52–1.70 fold increase in the risk of high grade cancer (Gleason score ≥ 7) among obese men. CCR7 variant emerged as an important factor associated with high grade PC risk among obese men in our analyses. Overall, genetic loci found significant in normal weight men were not significant in obese men and vice-versa, partially explaining the role of obesity on PC risk among black men. Also, older age was an important risk factor both in normal weight and obese men but only with regard to low grade PC. Associations of inflammatory SNPs with obesity are suggestive and require further validation in larger cohorts to help develop an understanding of PC risk among obese and non-obese men of African descent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The relationship between various anthropometric parameters and mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients is conflicting. Recently a new anthropometric parameter emerged, namely, body shape index (BSI). BSI is based on waist circumference (WC) but is independent of height, weight, and body mass index in predicting mortality in the general population. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between BSI and mortality in HD patients. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated the demographic characteristics and anthropometric measures including BSI, laboratory parameters, and mortality data in HD patients in a single center. Results: There were 142 HD patients enrolled in the study. The median BSI was 0.0816. Because no normal value was defined for BSI, the patients were divided into two groups based on the median BSI: group 1 BSI < 0.0816 and group 2 BSI > 0.0816. During an average follow-up period of 40.1 ± 19.2 mo (range 12-88 mo), 36 (25.4%) patients had died. The Cox regression analysis of independence showed that increased age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.077, 95% confidence interval [CI],1.031-1.125; P = 0.001), presence of diabetes (HR, 2.855, 95% CI, 1.258-6.481; P = 0.012), hemoglobin (HR, 0.629, 95% CI, 0.452-0.875; P = 0.006), and albumin (HR, 0.442, 95% CI, 0.204-0.955; P = 0.038) were independently related with mortality. None of the anthropometric parameters including BSI were related with mortality. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that there were no differences with respect to mortality among patients in group 1 and group 2 based on median BSI (P = 0.332, log-rank test). Conclusion: In conclusion, BSI is not independently associated with mortality in HD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Obesity is considered a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes by National and International Committees. For this reason, they advocate weight loss and prevention of obesity. However, several studies in patients with established coronary artery disease (CAD), congestive heart failure, and hypertension have shown an inverse relationship between obesity and mortality, the so called “obesity paradox,” whereas other studies have not shown such a relationship. In studies showing the obesity paradox (OP), body mass index (BMI) was used, almost exclusively as an index of obesity, although is a poor discriminator of total body fatness. Recent studies using better indices of obesity such as waist circumference (WC) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) have shown that high WC and WHR were directly and positively associated with higher event rate and total mortality in these patients. Because the OP could convey the wrong message in obese patients, the validity and true nature of the OP will be examined in this concise review. A Medline search of the English literature was performed between 2000 and September 2012, and 46 pertinent articles were selected for this review. The majority of these studies do not support an OP and those that do have used almost exclusively BMI as an index of obesity. Therefore, based on recent studies using other indices of body fat distribution, such as WC and WHR, besides BMI, the true existence of OP has been questioned and needs to be confirmed by future studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) is an emerging cardio-metabolic risk factor which is intricately involved in lipoprotein metabolism. Elevated plasma PLTP activity levels are reported in obesity and diabetes mellitus, but the relative contributions of obesity and insulin resistance to plasma PLTP activity remain unclear. We tested whether plasma PLTP activity is independently related to (central) obesity and insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects. Methods: The relationships of plasma PLTP activity levels (phospholipid vesicles–HDL system) with waist circumference, waist/hip ratio, body mass index (BMI) and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment (HOMAir)) were determined in 313 non-diabetic subjects (273 men). Results: PLTP activity was higher in 67 subjects with enlarged waist circumference (NCEP-ATP-III criteria; 102±11AU) compared to 246 subjects with normal waist (98±11AU, P =0.027). In univariate analysis PLTP activity correlated positively with waist (r =0.188), waist/hip ratio (r =0.143), BMI (r =0.125) and HOMAir (r =0.192) (P <0.05 to P <0.001). The relationship of PLTP with HOMAir was confined to subjects with the highest waist circumference and waist/hip ratio. In age- and sex-adjusted multiple linear regression models, waist circumference (β =0.158, P =0.025), but not BMI, predicted PLTP activity independently of HOMAir (β =0.126, P =0.047). Furthermore, both waist and waist/hip ratio interacted positively with HOMAir on PLTP activity (β =0.109, P =0.056 and β =0.156, P =0.034, respectively). Conclusions: In non-diabetic subjects, both obesity and insulin resistance influence plasma PLTP activity, resulting in elevated plasma PLTP activity particularly with combined increases in obesity and insulin resistance. Higher PLTP activity could contribute to elevated cardiovascular risk in the presence of obesity and insulin resistance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: We aimed to explore an optimal anthropometric indicator and optimal cut-off points for incident diabetes in Chinese adults. Methods: 61,703 subjects were followed for a median duration of 2 years. Body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio were collected base on a standard protocol. Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analyses were used to compare the predictive power of baseline BMI, WC, WHpR and WHtR for development of type 2 diabetes. Results: There were 2991 new cases of type 2 diabetes during follow-up. ROC curve analyses indicated that WHtR was the best predictor of type 2 diabetes for male (AUC=0.633). For female, WHtR and WC had similar predictive ability (AUC=0.701 and 0.695 respectively) and were superior to BMI. WHpR was the weakest predictor in both genders. The optimal WHtR cut-off values for incidence of type 2 diabetes were similar in both genders (0.53 vs. 0.52). BMI was higher in men (26kg/m2) than women (24kg/m2); and so did WC (91cm in men vs. 85cm in women). Conclusions: WHtR, and to some degree WC, are the best predictors of type 2 diabetes, followed by BMI then WHpR which is the weakest predictor in the tested adults. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background and aims: To explore the ability of waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) to predict two or more non-adipose components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) among individuals aged 18–85 in North China. Methods and results: This study is a cluster sample survey of 101,510 individuals, complete data are 75,788 subjects, 59,874 males and 15,914 females. Their ages were 51.9±12.7 years (males) and 48.7±11.5 years (females). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to examine discrimination and find optimal cut off values of WC, BMI and WHR to predict two or more non-adipose components of MetS. The area under the ROC curve (AURC) for WC (0.694) and BMI (0.692) in females showed no difference. In males BMI (0.657) had a better discrimination than WC (0.634). WHR was weaker in both sexes. The optimal cut off value of WC in males (86.5cm) was higher than in females (82.1cm); and that of BMI was about 24kg/m2 in both genders. The optimal cut off values of WC, BMI, and WHR, increased with age in both sexes. Conclusions: BMI and WC are more useful than WHR for predicting two or more non-adipose components of MetS. Cut off values for WC in males, and those of BMI and WHR in both sexes are lower than that in present MetS criteria; WC in females is slightly higher. Cut off values of WC, BMI and WHR were increased with age in the Chinese. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Various studies have established that the waist to hip ratio (WHR) influences perceptions of female attractiveness. The present study investigated the assumption that ageing of the face will exert a greater influence than WHR in ratings of female attractiveness, when WHR in females is manipulated within the normal range (0.67–0.85). In a within subjects design, 100 participants (mean age 23.4 years) rated 27 photographs on the following scales: youthfulness, attractiveness, fertility, healthiness, fecundity (likelihood of being pregnant), attractive to the opposite sex, a good mother and sexiness. The photographs had been digitally manipulated in terms of three levels of age of the face (young, middle, older: range around 20–40 years) and three levels of WHR (low, medium, high). Regressional analyses indicated that although WHR was found to have a significant influence on all the above attributes, the age of the face was found to have a greater effect. Results are interpreted in terms of age being a sexually selected trait providing potential mates with information concerning phenotypic and genetic quality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Differences exist between males and females in fat distribution, skeletal morphology, muscle mass, and body shape. We investigated sex differences in shoulder to hip ratios (SHR) and waist to hip ratios (WHR), and their relationships to different features of sexual behavior. Males with high SHR and females with low WHR reported sexual intercourse at an earlier age, more sexual partners, more extra-pair copulations (EPC), and having engaged in more instances of intercourse with people who were involved in another relationship (i.e., having themselves been EPC partners). The predictive value of these morphological features was highly sex-specific. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Obesity and fat topography are risk factors for hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus. The relative contribution of obesity and body fat distribution indices to fasting and oral glucose-stimulated C peptide, insulin, and glucose concentrations were determined in 33 healthy premenopausal women. Obesity level was assessed by hydrostatic weighing and fat topography by computerized tomography-derived intraabdominal fat area, waist to hip ratio, subscapular skinfold thickness and the ratio of subscapular to triceps skinfold thickness. Both fat mass and regional fat distribution indices were associated closely with changes in insulin secretion. Fat topography indices were more closely correlated (p < 0.001) to insulin response than were fat mass indices (p < 0.01). The subscapular skinfold thickness had the greatest integrity for reflecting fat mass and fat distribution as they relate to the metabolic profile. The subscapular skinfold thickness may help identify individuals at risk for noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity promotes intestinal inflammation and might contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. We examined the association between obesity and risk of microscopic colitis in a prospective cohort study. We collected data from 192,101 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) (from 1986 through 2014) or the NHSII (from 1991 through 2015). Anthropomorphic and lifestyle information were self-reported biennially. Obesity was defined using body mass index (BMI). Microscopic colitis was confirmed by review of medical records. We used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% CIs. Among the participants in the NHS and NHSII, we confirmed 244 cases of microscopic colitis during 4,223,868 person-years of follow-up evaluation. Higher BMI was associated inversely with risk of microscopic colitis (P trend <.001). Compared with women with BMIs ranging from 18.5 to 20.9 kg/m2, the aHRs were 0.61 (95% CI, 0.41–0.91) for overweight women (BMI, 25–29.9 kg/m2) and 0.50 (95% CI, 0.32–0.79) for obese women (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). The aHR for each 5-kg/m2 increase in BMI was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.69–0.90). Weight gain since early adulthood (age, 18 y) also was associated inversely with risk of microscopic colitis (P trend =.001). The aHR for each 10-kg weight gain since early adulthood was 0.85 (95% CI, 0.77–0.94). The associations were not modified by age, cohort, physical activity, or smoking status (all P interaction ≥.26). Unlike many other immune- and metabolic-related disorders, obesity and weight gain since early adulthood were associated with a lower risk of microscopic colitis, based on an analysis of participants in the NHS and NHSII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]