Abstract
Background: Appropriate body composition is a critical element positively influencing security personnel’s physical performance, health, and force readiness. Objective: A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the appropriate body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and body fatness cut-off values for the prediction of cardiovascular risk among Malaysian male security personnel. Methods: A total of 913 respondents, aged between 18 to 50 years were recruited using a two-stage proportionate stratified sampling design. Their anthropometric measurements, physical fitness status, blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting glucose, and 2-hour post prandial glucose were obtained. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to determine the optimal cut-offs of BMI, WC, and body fatness with optimum sensitivity and specificity. Results: More than 38% of the respondents were overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9 kg/m2), 18% were obese (BMI > 30.0 kg/m2), and 44% were classified with abdominal obesity (WC > 90 cm). Almost 60% of respondents have at least one cardiovascular risk factor. A WC of 80.0 cm gave the largest area under the ROC curve (AUC=0.808, 95% CI 0.775-0.840), followed by a BMI of 23.5 kg/m2 (AUC=0.802, 95% CI 0.769- 0.834), and body fatness of 20.0% (AUC=0.794, 95% CI 0.761- 0.826). The sensitivity and specificity of these cut-offs ranged between 89.8% to 90.2% and 83.0% to 84.1% respectively. Conclusion: Optimal cut-offs of BMI 23.5 kg/m2, WC 80.0 cm, and total body fatness of 20.0% were suggested for reduction of cardiovascular risk among Malaysian male security personnel.