Adiposity assessment: explaining the association between obesity, hypertension and stroke

Abstract

Obesity is associated with a greater prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and a higher risk of cardiovascular events, and contributes to the rise in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. Increased BMI is established as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Attention has recently been drawn to alternate measures of adiposity/obesity, such as waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio, that provide information regarding body fat distribution. Although BMI is the established clinical measurement to estimate CVD risk associated with excess bodyweight, there is evidence suggesting that abdominal obesity could represent a better marker of CVD risk than BMI. It is now recognized that abdominally obese individuals tend to have higher blood pressure. A major cardiovascular risk factor associated with stroke is systemic hypertension followed closely by obesity. Clinical adiposity indices used to describe obesity linked with systemic hypertension and stroke incidence are reviewed in this article. In summary, BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio measurements are all useful tools for assessing adiposity/obesity in clinical practice, and should be evaluated with other cardiometabolic risk factors to refine cardiovascular risk stratification.

Adiponectin supplementation in pregnant mice prevents the adverse effects of maternal obesity on placental function and fetal growth

“…adipokines | maternal-fetal exchange | amino acids | glucose | insulin resistance O besity and the metabolic syndrome are major risk factors for a wide array of diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and cancer (1,2). Compelling evidence shows that metabolic syndrome is caused, in part, by a suboptimal intrauterine environment (3).…”

Fat Mass Gain Predicts Estimated GFR Decline in a Relatively Healthy Korean Population

“…For example, the performance of BMI might not be optimal in special circumstances such as childhood, elderly patients, or different ethnicities [3]. Predicting cardiovascular risk is one of the major reasons for calculating BMI, but BMI might be inferior to measures of abdominal obesity in this regard [10]. Anthropometric method is another tool by which we can measure adiposity and predict CKD.…”

Abdominal obesity in stroke: an exploratory survey of stroke survivors attending physiotherapy facilities in Nigeria

“…In spite of the dangers of abdominal obesity, only few studies have reported on its prevalence among stroke survivors [17][18][19] and this dearth may have implications for effective primary and secondary stroke prevention. For instance, information on abdominal obesity among stroke survivors may provide insight into its contribution to stroke incidence [17][18][19] and may also indicate the possibility of a recurrent stroke in the future.…”

“…For instance, information on abdominal obesity among stroke survivors may provide insight into its contribution to stroke incidence [17][18][19] and may also indicate the possibility of a recurrent stroke in the future. It is, however, heartening that abdominal obesity can be successfully mitigated through educational and enlightenment programs to create awareness, and deliberate research and clinical focus on its prevalence, risk factors, prevention, and management.…”