Association Between Obesity and Cardiometabolic Health in Asian-Canadian Sub-Groups

Purpose: To examine the association between the WHO’s Asian specific trigger points representing ‘increased risk’ (BMI ≥23 kg/m2) and ‘high risk’ (BMI ≥27.5 kg/m2) with cardiovascular-related conditions in Asian-Canadian sub-groups. Methods: Six cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (2001-2009; N=18 794) were pooled and weighted; multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of cardiovascular outcomes. Results: Versus South Asians, Filipinos had higher odds of ‘≥1 cardiometabolic condition’ (OR=1.29). Compared to the normal weight category in each ethnic group, the association between excess adiposity on ‘≥1 cardiometabolic condition’ was highest among Chinese (‘increased risk’: OR=3.6; ‘high risk’: OR=8.9). Compared to ‘normal weight’ South Asians, those in the ‘high risk’ groups (except Southeast Asian, Arab, and Japanese) were approximately 3-times as likely to report ‘≥1 cardiometabolic condition’. Conclusions: The relationship between overweight, obesity, and health risk varied within Asian sub-groups, and was strongest for South Asian and Filipino.