Waist-to-Height ratio

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Several studies comparing body metrics seem to be settling on using

the Waist-to-Height ratio >= 0.5 as an indication of abdominal

adiposity. The ratio is better than just waist circumference because

it takes into consideration the relative size of the individual, and

it is applicable to both men and women.

Here is one of those papers.

Tony

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=12704405 & dopt=Abstract

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 May;27(5):610-6.

Waist-to-height ratio, a simple and practical index for assessing

central fat distribution and metabolic risk in Japanese men and women.

Hsieh SD, Yoshinaga H, Muto T.

Medical Center of Health Science, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

hsieh@...

OBJECTIVE: The normal body mass index (BMI) range, as defined by the

World Health Organization (WHO), is quite wide, and some people

within this range may have excessive central fat accumulation and

elevated metabolic risks. We hypothesize that the waist-to-height

ratio (W/Ht), an effective index for assessing central fat

distribution among Japanese people, can be used to identify subjects

who are at higher metabolic risk within the normal as well as the

overweight range. METHODS: We investigated: (1). the values of BMI,

waist circumference, and W/Ht in 6141 men and 2137 women at various

age intervals and calculated gender (female to male) ratios for all

these anthropometric indices; (2). the relation between age and each

anthropometric index, between age and morbidity index for coronary

risk factors (sum of the scores for hyperglycemia, hypertension,

hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, and low HDL cholesterol;

one point for each condition if present), and between morbidity index

for coronary risk factors and each anthropometric index; (3). the

distributions of the subjects, using various proposed indices of

waist circumference (those suggested by WHO, the Japan Society for

the Study of Obesity, and the Asia-Pacific perspective), and our

proposed boundary value, W/Ht 0.5, among the WHO categories based on

BMI; (4). the metabolic risks (coronary risk factors, hyperuricemia,

high gamma-glutamyltransferase, and fatty liver diagnosed by

ultrasonography), and exercise habits among normal-weight subjects

with W/Ht<0.5 or >or=0.5. RESULTS: (1). For the various

anthropometric indices in all age groups, the gender ratio for W/Ht

was closest to 1, indicating that a single set of values for W/Ht can

be used for men and women. (2). Height correlated negatively with

age. Among the anthropometric indices, only W/Ht correlated

positively with age for both men and women, while age and all

anthropometric indices, except height, correlated positively with the

morbidity index for coronary risk factors. For both men and women,

the highest correlation coefficient was between W/Ht and the

morbidity index for coronary risk factors. (3). Nearly all overweight

men and women (BMI>or=25) had W/Ht>or=0.5 (98.5% of men and 97.5% of

women). None of the underweight subjects had W/Ht>or=0.5. However,

45.5% of men and 28.3% of women of normal weight (BMI 18.5-<25) had

W/Ht>or=0.5. W/Ht, of all the indices investigated, was the best

index for signaling metabolic risk in the normal-weight subjects as

well as the overweight subjects. (4). Age- and BMI-adjusted odds

ratios for multiple metabolic risks, and history of no habitual

exercise were significantly higher in normal-weight men and women

with W/Ht>or=0.5 than in others of normal weight. CONCLUSIONS: Waist

circumference is improved by relating it to height to categorized fat

distribution of different genders and ages. W/Ht is a simple and

practical anthropometric index to identify higher metabolic risks in

normal and overweight Japanese men and women.