Associations between anthropometric indices of adiposity and atherogenic risk factors in Japanese working women aged 21-40 years

This study was conducted to explore whether anthropometric indices of obesi ty are associated with atherogenic risk factors in young adult working wome n in Japan. The subjects were 492 women in an occupational setting. Predict or variables were body mass index (BMI), the sum of triceps and subscapular skinfold thickness (SFT), and the waist to hip ratio (WHR). Outcome variab les were serum total cholesterol, triglyceride and blood pressures. The ave rage age of the subjects was 26.3 (SD 3.9) years. The upper quartiles of BM I and SFT were significantly associated with all atherogenic risk factors, while the upper quartiles of WHR were not. Multiple comparisons revealed th e 4th quartiles of BMI (> 22.25) and SFT (> 39 mm) to have significantly hi gher values for all atherogenic risk factors. We found that BMI and skinfol d thickness were more relevant to the prediction of atherogenic risk factor s than WHR in young adult Japanese women.