Chinese People may be More Susceptible to Obesity-related Health Risks

Chinese people are more likely to face hypertension (high blood pressure) and other health risks than people from different racial and ethnic groups.

As a result of their higher body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, Chinese people are more likely to face hypertension (high blood pressure) and other health risks than people from different racial and ethnic groups, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Over 2.1 billion adults are estimated to have obesity, which is a chronic disease of having too much body fat. Health care providers can diagnose obesity using a number called the body mass index.

Obesity - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Complications, Treatment
Obesity is a condition where there is excess accumulation of body fat which poses a risk to the health of the individual. It can affect children and adults.

‘People with obesity are more likely to develop serious health complications like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and these risks differ among various races and ethnicities.’

“Our study demonstrated that Chinese adults were more susceptible to the effects of overall obesity and abdominal fat accumulation on blood pressure and triglycerides than those in other racial and ethnic populations,” said study author Weiqing Wang, M.D., Ph.D., of the Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China.

“These racial and ethnic differences in susceptibility of obesity-related health problems should be noticed while screening for high-risk individuals using BMI and waist circumference.”

The researchers analyzed a total of 126,284 participants from a major national Chinese study and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the U.S. and compared cardiometabolic risk factors among different races and ethnicities. They found Chinese adults are more affected by obesity-related risks like high blood pressure than Black, white and Mexican American people.

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Other authors of the study include: Ruizhi Zheng, Mian Li, Min Xu, Jieli Lu, Tiange Wang, Meng Dai, Di Zhang, Yuhong Chen, Zhiyun Zhao, Shuangyuan Wang, Hong Lin, Yufang Bi, Yu Xu and Guang Ning of the Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine.

The manuscript received funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shanghai Municipal Government, the Shanghai Shen Kang Hospital Development Center and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

Quiz on Body Mass Index (BMI)
Excessive weight could cause numerous health problems like heart disease, osteoarthritis etc. Though most of us depend on taking our weight on a scale to assess if we are overweight. A better method, however, is to measure the body mass index (BMI). Test your knowledge on BMI by taking this quiz.

The manuscript, “Chinese Adults Are More Susceptible to Effects of Overall Obesity and Fat Distribution on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors," was published online, ahead of print.

Source-Newswise

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Slide show which explains obesity causes and tips on how to lose weight. Exercising before breakfast is most effective for weight loss.