Measurement of Waist Circumference

Abstract

OBJECTIVEWaist circumference (WC) is used to define central obesity. This study aimed to compare the performance of two recommended locations of WC measurement.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA cohort of 1,898 subjects who were without diabetes from 2006 to 2012 were followed for a median of 31 months (Taiwan Lifestyle Study). The WC-IC, recommended by the National Cholesterol Education Program Third Adult Treatment Panel, was measured at the superior border of the iliac crest, and the WC-mid, recommended by World Health Organization and International Diabetes Federation, was measured midway between the lowest ribs and the iliac crest. The abdominal subcutaneous fat area (SFA) and visceral fat area (VFA) were assessed by computed tomography.RESULTSThere was greater difference between WC-IC and WC-mid measurements in women than in men (P < 0.001). Both WC-IC and WC-mid correlated significantly with BMI, VFA, and SFA (all P < 0.001). WC-mid was better correlated to VFA than WC-IC, particularly in women, and it correlated more strongly to blood pressure, plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, triglyceride levels, HDL cholesterol, and C-reactive protein (all P < 0.05). The association of WC-mid with hypertension, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome was slightly better than that of WC-IC (area under the receiver operator curve 0.7 vs. 0.69, 0.71 vs. 0.68, and 0.75 vs. 0.7, respectively; all age-adjusted P < 0.05). With 90 cm (male)/80 cm (female) as criteria for central obesity, WC-mid, but not WC-IC, predicted the incidence of diabetes development (age-adjusted P = 0.003).CONCLUSIONSWC-mid is a better measurement to define central obesity than WC-IC, particularly in women.

Comparing Two Waist-to-Height Ratio Measurements with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors among Youth with Diabetes

“…This is consistent with findings in most studies in adults and those including children and adolescents [6, 15–17]. For example, Patry-Parisien et al .…”

The Impact of Gastric Atrophy on the Incidence of Diabetes

“…The prevalence of H. pylori infection has been reported to be 50–80%43. The incidence of diabetes in the present cohort has been reported to be 2.92% per year40. In a follow-up period of 3.4 years, there will be 9.92% of the study subjects who develop incident diabetes.…”

“…We derived the data from the Taiwan Lifestyle Study, a large prospective cohort study40. From 2006 to 2012, individuals aged 18 years and above and were free of diabetes, defined as fasting plasma glucose <126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) tested in the previous year at National Taiwan University Hospital Yun-Lin branch, were invited in this cohort study.…”

Are the recent secular increases in the waist circumference of adults independent of changes in BMI?

“…Although more-recent NHANES studies measured waist circumference just above the ilium (26), the location in the NHES-I was midway between the iliac crest and lower edge of the rib cage (43). The measurement at the superior border of the iliac crest was shown to be up to 1.7 cm greater in men and up to 5.6 cm greater in women than the midway measurements (44, 45). This effect could have been further increased in regression models because the much-earlier data from the NHES-I would have had high leverage (influence) on estimates.…”