Addressing health disparities. Measuring body composition as a complementary predictor of cardiovascular risk

Introduction. Obesity, increased waist circumference and elevated visceral fat are positively correlated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, in contrast to Mediterranean Diet. Objective: To analyze the association between increased waist circumference (WC), visceral fat (VF), body mass index (BMI), age, sex, total cholesterol, total fat percentage, muscle mass and adherence to a Mediterranean Diet. Methods. 566 office workers with increased WC (WHO criteria) were included in this multicentre, cross-sectional observational study, when they attended to their job-specific health checkup in Madrid (2023). BMI and body fat distribution (VF, total fat and muscle mass) was obtained using bioimpedance (TANITA™). Sex, age, waist circumference, total cholesterol and PREDIMED questionnaire (adherence to Mediterranean diet) were also collected. Results. 95.3% of the employees were obese or overweight (BMI). 76.3% had increased TF or were in the obese range. 63% had medium or low adherence to the Mediterranean diet. 50.5% had normal visceral fat. 51.2% had normal cholesterol levels. High VF showed a statistically significant association (P<0.001) with BMI ≥30 (obesity).Being male was associated to greater obesity (P<0.001), high VF (P<0.001) and lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet (P<0.03).Being a woman was associated to high TF (P<0.001).A low adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated to more VF (P<0.017). Conclusions.Individual CVR prediction can be completed by clinicians using tools like bioimpedance that considers sex, VF, TF, in addition to BMI and WC.