Central Adiposity Measures

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It seems that the official U.S. guidelines for determining obesity and

risk of CVD are BMI and Waist Circumference.

http://www.guidelines.gov/summary/pdf.aspx?doc_id=4118 & stat=1 & string=

Persons with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are overweight and those with a

BMI of >30 are obese. There are 3 classes of obesity: class I (BMI

30-34.9), class II (BMI 35-39.9), and class III (BMI 40 and above).

Men with waist circumferences >102 cm (>40 inches) and women with

waist circumferences >88 cm (>35 inches) are at increased risk for

cardiovascular disease. The waist circumference thresholds are not

reliable for patients with a BMI >35.

Some of the problems in finding good metrics are discussed in PMID:

15672103