Correlations of Body Mass Index, Japan-Defined and IDF-Defined Waist Circumference, Visceral and Subcutaneous Fat Area with Metabolic Parameters in Japanese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Obesity is included in the definition of metabolic syndrome. However, there are many controversies surrounding the evaluation of obesity such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in the definition of metabolic syndrome among various populations. To understand precisely how various anthropometric indices of obesity influence metabolic parameters, we studied the correlations of BMI, WC (Japanese criteria), WC (IDF criteria), visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area (SFA) and the VFA/SFA ratio with metabolic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes. The influences of BMI and WC on diastolic blood pressure and HDL-cholesterol were larger than VFA, whereas the influences of visceral fat area on triglyceride, very low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, C-peptide and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were larger than BMI and WC. WC (IDF) was the strongest determinant of adiponectin among anthropometric indices. Present study showed significant different associations of BMI, Japan- and IDF-defined WC, VFA, SFA and the VFA/SFA ratio with blood pressure, glucose and lipid metabolism, and adipocytokines in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.