Altos niveles de adiposidad se asocian a un deterioro en la salud metabólica en adultos chilenos

Background: Adiposity is positively associated with metabolic and inflammatory markers, which increase the risk of developing metabolic disease related to obesity. Aim: To investigate the association between adiposity markers and metabolic health in Chilean adults. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 475 participants. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and body fat (using 4 skinfold) were measured. The outcomes of interest were blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), HDL and LDL cholesterol, γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), leptin and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP). The association between adiposity and metabolic outcomes were investigated using multiple linear regression analysis. Results: Individuals in the highest tertile for BMI, WC and body fat had a lower concentration of HDL-cholesterol and higher concentration of insulin, HOMA-IR, TG, LDL and total cholesterol, GGT, ALT, leptin and hsCRP. Blood pressure was higher with increasing BMI in females only. There was no significant association between fasting glucose and any of the adiposity markers. Conclusion: Higher adiposity levels were associated with a detrimental metabolic health. The effect of higher BMI, WC and body fat were similar across metabolic markers.