ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the prevalence and related factors of abdominal obesity among urban adults aged 35 to 79 years in southwest China.MethodsFrom September 2013 to March 2014, a multi-stage sampling was conducted, and a total of 10,981 people aged 35–79 years living in Chengdu and Chongqing were included. More than 30 investigators were trained in data collection, including questionnaire, anthropometric measurements and blood biomarkers testing. Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference ≥ 90 cm for men and ≥ 85 cm for women.ResultsThe prevalence of abdominal obesity was 30.7%, 24.8% in males and 33.9% in females (p