Background: Despite the rising prevalence of evaporative dry eyes among young adults in Malaysia, the association between obesity-related factors like BMI, WHR and Meibomian gland loss (MGL) remains unclear. This study investigates the relationship between body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) in young adults. 

Methods: A total of 66 right eyes of subjects were divided into underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity groups based on their BMI and WHR. Meibomian gland examinations of the upper eyelids were performed using Oculus Keratograph 5M corneal topographer (Oculus Optikgerate, Germany). MGL was calculated using ImageJ software (Version 1.51). 

Results: Among the 66 subjects enrolled, there were 29 males [44%] and 37 females [56%] with the mean age of 22.39 ± 1.98 years. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 23.40 ± 6.13 while the mean waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was 0.79±0.06. Pearson correlation revealed no statistically significant difference in BMI and MGL (r(64)= 0.023, p= 0.857), BMI and MG tortuosity (r(64)= 0.124, p= 0.321), WHR and MGL (r(64)= -0.093, p= 0.457), WHR and MG tortuosity (r(64)= 0.151, p= 0.226). 

Conclusion: No significant association in BMI and WHR with either MGL or Meibomian gland (MG) tortuosity. These results suggest that targeting BMI and WHR alone may not be sufficient for addressing MGD, highlighting the need to explore other potential contributing factors.