Association between Body Fat Percentage and Cardiometabolic Diseases in General Population

Objectives: The body fat percentage is an indicator of overall body fat related to metabolism and inflammation. Our study aims to analyze the association between body fat percentage and the risk of cardiometabolic diseases in the general population. Methods: This was a retrospectively cross-sectional study. A total of 5084 participants enrolled from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycle of 1999-2004 were divided into quartiles according to their body fat percent levels. The body fat percentage was measured from bioelectrical impedance analysis. A history of cardiometabolic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, was ascertained from questionnaire, physical or laboratory examination. The association between body fat percentage and cardiometabolic diseases was investigated using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Compared with the lowest quartile of body fat percentage, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval of the highest quartile was 3.99 (1.58-10.88) for cardiovascular disease, 1.08 (1.04-1.13) for hypertension and 3.08 (1.89-5.11) for diabetes. Body fat percentage independently increased the risk of cardiometabolic diseases as a continuous variable. Conclusions: Higher body fat percentage level was associated with a higher likelihood of cardiometabolic diseases, which could be a powerful predictive factor.