Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

Background: Central body fat is a better predictor than overall body fat for cardiovascular risk factors in both adults and children. Waist circumference has been used as a proxy measure of central body fat; and Waist-to-height ratio has been proposed as an alternative, conveniently age-independent measure of cardiovascular risk. The purpose of this research was to compared waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-stature ratio in predicting overweight / obese male students.
Methods: Subjects were new entrants male students from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad with range of 18-22 years. Height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-stature ratio barefoot and with minimal clothing were measured. Data were analyzed by ANOVA test and ROC analysis.
Results: Mean waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio in different groups of BMI was significant. Area under the curve for WC (p=0.003) and WHtR (p=0.013) had significant difference, but WHR was not significant (p=0.335).
Conclusion: WC and WHtR are better indices than WHR to detect in overweight and obesity; however WC is the index applicable for clinical practice because it is easier to measure than the other two indices and is low cost.