Body roundness index is a superior indicator to associate with the cardio‐metabolic risk: evidence from a cross‐sectional study with 17,000 Eastern-China adults

BACKGROUND: To investigate the ability of body shape index (ABSI), body roundness index (BRI), waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and body adiposity index (BAI) for predicting non-adipose cardio-metabolic risk. METHODS: A total of 17,360 Chinese subjects aged 18–95 years old who escaped cardiovascular disease (CVD) or diabetes were recruited in the cross-sectional study. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and multinomial logistic regression were conducted to examine the association of anthropometric indicators with cardio-metabolic risk factors. RESULTS: The mean age of subjects were 53.7(13.1) years, 41.6 % were males. The areas under the curve (AUC) demonstrated that WC, BMI, WHR, WHtR and BRI were able to predict high cardio-metabolic risk (AUC > 0.70). Meanwhile, multinomial logistic regression showed BRI was significantly associated with high cardio-metabolic risk (OR 3.27, 95% CI 3.01–3.55). The optimal cut-off values of BRI for high cardio-metabolic risk were (< 60 y: 3.49 vs. ≥60 y: 3.46) in males and (< 60 y: 3.47 vs. ≥60 y: 3.60) in females. CONCLUSIONS: WC, BMI WHR, and WHtR were potential obesity indicators in discriminating high cardio-metabolic risk, while BAI or ABSI was not. Moreover, BRI revealed superior predictive capacity and significant association with accumulated cardio-metabolic risk factors. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-021-01905-x.