Consider abdominal obesity a vital sign in Asian Indians, doctors stress

Experts in India are calling for abdominal obesity to be recognised a new vital sign in Asian Indians. An editorial by Amerta Ghosh and Anoop Misra published in the journal Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews, has emphasised the necessity of measuring waist circumference in all patients.

The progressive increase in obesity and abdominal obesity in India represents a significant and evolving metabolic crisis contributing to the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and associated cardiometabolic disorders, the editorial noted.

Asian Indians characteristically develop abdominal obesity despite relatively normal BMI, a phenotype associated with higher insulin resistance, ectopic fat deposition, and earlier onset of metabolic diseases.

BMI, therefore, is an inadequate measure of obesity, it states, calling for a shift in focus from generalised obesity to abdominal obesity, from a reliance on BMI to prioritising waist circumference and related indices, including waist circumference-to-height ratio for more accurate cardiometabolic risk stratification in routine clinical practice.

Data from the National Family Health Survey – 5 revealed that abdominal obesity affects approximately 40% of women and 12% of men. Significantly, abdominal obesity is no longer confined to urban or affluent populations, it is rising in rural areas and increasingly affecting lower and middle socioeconomic groups, the editorial highlighted.