Abdominal obesity is associated with insulin resistance.
BACKGROUND
Recent evidence suggests that insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia may account for many of the medical complications of obesity. This study was performed to determine whether a predominance of body fat in the abdominal region is associated with insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia.


METHODS
Two groups of nine obese women were matched for age and total obesity but differed significantly in the pattern of fat distribution as defined by the waist-to-hip circumference ratio (WHR). The high-WHR group had a WHR of 0.87 (+/- 0.01), and the low-WHR group had WHR of 0.77 (+/- 0.02) (P < .05).


RESULTS
Plasma levels of glucose, free fatty acids, and insulin, measured hourly for eight hours while the subjects consumed a diet of regular food, were higher in the high-WHR group.


CONCLUSIONS
The high-WHR group (abdominal obesity) was more resistant to the action of insulin. These results suggest that measurement of the WHR could help define the degree of medical risk for a given obese patient seeking treatment.
Gray
D S
DS
Department of Family Medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
Fujioka
K
K
Devine
W
W
Cuyegkeng
T
T
D000005:Abdomen / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000328:Adult; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000150:complications; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D012306:Risk