Epidemiology of Abdominal Obesity in Egypt

Abdominal obesity is assessed through measurement of WC. An increase in WC carries a greater risk of development of future cardiovascular events and diabetes than increased BMI. Abdominal obesity is now recognized as a central component of the metabolic syndrome. Various measurements were used to define the threshold of WC which is considered the upper limit of normal. The cutoff points are arbitrary and are population and gender specific. New Egyptian WC cutoff points for abdominal obesity are developed based upon data from the Egyptian National Hypertension Project (NHP). These are 97.5 cm for men and 92.3 cm for women. Cutoff points recommended by IDF were 94 cm for men and 80 cm for women derived from the Europid cutoff points. The prevalence of abdominal obesity in Egyptians based upon the IDF guidelines is 30.2% for men and 70.9% for women while based on new Egyptian criteria, the prevalence of abdominal obesity in men is 37.1% and in women 50.8%. A positive correlation was found between WC and most of the cardiometabolic risk factors.