Abstract

Recent studies have reported that a subset of obese individuals who were metabolically healthy but obese had more favorable clinical outcomes than obese subjects with metabolic disturbances. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution and agreement of obesity subtypes according to body mass index (BMI) and metabolic syndrome (MS). Furthermore, we examined the differences of nutrient intake among the groups. Data was analyzed for 1,095 female subjects older than 40 years using Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey in 2008. The degree of obesity was classified by two methods, using BMI (obese > or = 25 kg/m2, not obese < 25 kg/m2) and MS (meet > or = 3 criteria among 5 index: waist circumference, triglyceride, glucose, HDL-cholesterol and blood pressure). Subjects were divided into 4 groups according to 2x2 cross table: non-obese without MS, non-obese with MS, obese without MS and obese with MS. Nutrient intakes were compared among 4 groups. The results showed that the proportions of non-obese without MS, non-obese with MS, obese without MS and obese with MS were 47.6%, 13.6%, 16.6%, and 22.2% of total subjects, respectively. The agreement (kappa value) of two methods was 0.354 (fair) in total subjects, 0.365 (fair) in 40-60 year old subjects and 0.304 (fair) in > or = 61 year old subjects. In > or = 61 years old subjects, intakes of percentage energy from carbohydrate, percentage of energy from fat, calcium, phosphorous, sodium, vitamin A, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin were significantly different among the groups. In contrast, the subjects of 40-60 years old, no differences in nutrient intakes were observed. In conclusion, there were differences in nutrient intakes among the groups subdivided by obesity and MS, especially in elderly female subjects. Individualized dietary guideline for subtype of obesity will be needed to treat metabolic disturbance of obesity.

• Keywords: obesity; metabolic syndrome; body mass index; nutrient intakes