Importance of anthropometry in assessing insulin resistance as a pre-alarming sign before the onset of metabolic syndrome: a study among apparently healthy subjects

Insulin resistance (IR) and obesity are inter-related causes of metabolic syndrome. Early identification before the onset of metabolic syndrome will be useful to lead a healthy life. The purpose of the present study was to identify the importance of IR before the onset of metabolic syndrome in apparently healthy, non-diabetics subjects. Data of 227 apparently healthy non-diabetics (20-70 years) who reside in a suburban area in Colombo district, Sri Lanka, were recruited for this study. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting serum insulin (FSI), weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) were measured and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (ver.17). Majority were females (61.8 %). Prevalence of IR was 59.9 %. Mean BMI of IR subjects was 28.3 ± 2.7 kg m⁻²where 75.3 % of obese had IR. All anthropometric variables except height had significant positive correlations (P < 0.01) with IR. Linear regression analysis indicated that BMI is useful in predicting IR while logistic regression analysis showed that BMI and WC are the best predictors of IR in males whereas it was WHtR and WC in females. Even though study subjects were apparently healthy and not diagnosed as diabetes, those with elevated anthropometric parameters had higher prevalence of IR. Best anthropometric predictors of IR for a specific sex should be used as an easy self-monitoring alarming sign before the onset of metabolic syndrome.