Overweight male personnel of the Japan Self-Defense Forces with body mass indices of 23.0-24.9 and obesity-related metabolic disorders

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>To assess the validity of the criterion of overweight for Asian people that is recommended by Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We carried out a cross-sectional analysis of the association between the criterion of overweight for ethnic Asian people--body mass indices (BMI) of 23.0-24.9 kg/m(2)--and the presence of obesity-related metabolic disorders among middle-aged Japanese men (n = 974, age range 51-59).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of overweight to those with normal weight (BMI < 23.0 kg/m(2)) were 1.61 (1.11-2.33) for the presence of impaired glucose tolerance, 1.95 (1.30-2.93) for hypertension, 2.22 (1.63-3.03) for hypercholesterolemia, 2.83 (2.02-3.97) for hypertriglyceridemia, and 2.06 (1.06-4.00) for hyperuricemia. Overweight was not associated with the presence of type 2 diabetes or with high gamma-glutamyl transferase in the present study (odds ratios 1.09 and 1.05, respectively). Adjustment for age, rank, and lifestyle factors affected the results only slightly.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Based on these results, we conclude that the Asian criterion of overweight appears to be rational in terms of its association with obesity-related metabolic disorders in male personnel of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in their fifties.</p>