Seong Jun Lee1, Hee Jin Lee1, Youn Huh2, Sung Sunwoo1

1 Department of Family Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea 2 Department of Family Medicine, Uijeongbu Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University, Uijeongbu, Korea


Background: The burden of disease caused by obesity is high worldwide, and the rate of obesity among adult men in Korea is increasing rapidly. Previous studies have shown that people with abdominal obesity have a higher risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the as- sociation between abdominal obesity and the risk of chronic diseases among Korean adults.
Methods: Using raw data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016-2020, adults over 19 years of age were selected as research subjects. A chi square independence test was conducted to in- vestigate the basic demographic characteristics of patients with abdominal obesity and the prevalence of chronic diseases. The relationship between abdominal obesity and each chronic disease was verified using multiple logistic regression analysis that adjusted for multiple chronic diseases.
Results: The risk of all chronic diseases was higher in the abdominal obesity group than in the non-abdominal obese group. When multiple logistic regression analysis was performed with adjustments for age, gender, edu- cation level, income level, smoking, alcohol use and multiple chronic disease, the risk of hypertension, dyslipi- demia, diabetes, and arthritis was higher in the abdominal obesity group.
Conclusions: Abdominal obesity is related to chronic diseases. The management and prevention of abdominal obesity should be emphasized to reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
Korean J Health Promot 2022;22(4):194-200

Keywords: Abdominal obesity, Chronic diseases, Adults, Korea