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Meta-Analysis
. 2025 Jun 17:16:1562060.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1562060. eCollection 2025.

Abdominal obesity prevalence in Latin America: a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing ATP III and IDF criteria

Víctor Juan Vera-Ponce  1   2 , Joan A Loayza-Castro  1 , Fiorella E Zuzunaga-Montoya  3 , Luisa Erika Milagros Vásquez-Romero  1 , Nataly Mayely Sanchez-Tamay  1   2 , Juan Carlos Bustamante-Rodríguez  1   2 , Jhosmer Ballena-Caicedo  1   2 , Carmen Inés Gutierrez De Carrillo  1   2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Abdominal obesity prevalence in Latin America: a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing ATP III and IDF criteria

Víctor Juan Vera-Ponce et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Background: Abdominal obesity (AO) represents a significant cardiovascular risk factor with distinctive characteristics in Latin American populations. Its prevalence has increased substantially in recent decades, although estimates vary according to the diagnostic criteria.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of AO in Latin American populations through a systematic review with meta-analysis, comparing ATP III and IDF criteria.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted across SCOPUS, Web of Science, PubMed, and EMBASE databases. Observational studies evaluating AO prevalence in Latin American populations using either ATP III (≥102/88 cm) or IDF (≥90/80 cm) criteria were included. Meta-regressions were performed to assess the influence of publication year and sample size.

Results: Sixty-one studies were included (n=281,694 participants). The pooled prevalence according to ATP III criteria was 40% (95% CI: 34-46%) and 62% (95% CI: 56-68%) according to IDF criteria. Sex-stratified analysis revealed significantly higher prevalences in women (ATP III: 50% vs 27%; IDF: 74.3% vs 46.8%). Temporal meta-regression demonstrated an upward trend, particularly in studies utilizing IDF criteria, while sample size showed no significant influence on prevalence estimates. Substantial geographic variations were observed, with Mexico and Venezuela exhibiting the highest prevalences. Heterogeneity was considerably high (I²>99%) across all analyses.

Conclusions: AO prevalence in Latin America is high and demonstrates significant sexual dimorphism. These findings challenge the validity of current cut-off points and suggest the need to develop Latin American-specific criteria based on clinically relevant outcomes.

Keywords: Latin America; abdominal obesity; meta-analysis; prevalence; systematic review; waist circumference.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of study selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot* of AO prevalence meta-analysis according to ATP III criteria in Latin America. * The squares represent the point prevalence of each study, while the horizontal lines indicate the 95% confidence intervals. The size of the squares is proportional to the relative weight of each study in the meta-analysis. The diamond at the bottom represents the combined prevalence estimate with its 95% confidence interval.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot* of AO prevalence meta-analysis according to IDF criteria in Latin America, * The squares represent the point prevalence of each study, while the horizontal lines indicate the 95% confidence intervals. The size of the squares is proportional to the relative weight of each study in the meta-analysis. The diamond at the bottom represents the combined prevalence estimate with its 95% confidence interval.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Map of Latin America with the prevalence of LA according to ATP III and IDF.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Meta-regression of the prevalence of AO – ATP III by year of publication in Latin American countries.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Meta-regression of the prevalence of OA – IDF by year of publication in Latin American countries.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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