Obesity Indices in relation to Lipid Abnormalities among Medical University Students in Zahedan, South-East of Iran

BACKGROUND: There is no statement on the ability of obesity indices in prediction of lipid abnormalities among young adults. The present study was conducted to determine the ability of obesity indices as predictors of lipid abnormalities among a group of young adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 353 medical university students aged 18–25 years (188 males and 165 females) participated in this cross-sectional study in 2014. Weight, height, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference were measured to calculate obesity indices including body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) were measured by commercially available kits and were applied to calculate low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and atherogenic parameters including LDL-C/ HDL-C ratio, TC/HDL-C ratio, non-HDL-C, and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP). RESULTS: Subjects with BMI ≥25 kg/m(2) had a greater value of all lipid profiles and atherogenic parameters (P < 0.05) except for HDL-C (P > 0.05) compared to subjects with BMI <25 kg/m(2). In logistic regression model, BMI ≥25 kg/m(2) was significantly associated with the highest odds for elevated TC (odds ratio [OR] = 7.67, P = 0.003), LDL-C (OR = 3.24, P = 0.01), TC:HDL-C (OR = 4.98, P = 0.01), and non-HDL-C(OR = 4.32, P = 0.001) in males, as well as high values of TG (OR = 8.80, P = 0.002), LDL-C:HDL-C (OR = 3.64, P = 0.01), and AIP (OR = 9.65, P < 0.001) in females. In terms of central obesity indices, males with WC ≥102 cm and females with WC ≥88 cm had the highest odds of increased LDL-C:HDL-C (OR = 6.71, P = 0.01) and TC:HDL-C (OR = 3.25, P = 0.050), respectively. In addition, females with WHtR ≥0.50 had the highest odds of high TC (OR = 3.56, P = 0.02) and non-HDL-C (OR = 2.70, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the findings of the present study showed that BMI was a stronger index for prediction of classical lipid parameters and atherogenic parameters than central obesity indices in medical students.