Overweight/Obesity in University Students from Mexico: Comparison Using Different Indices

Abstract

The goal was to compare body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist to height ratio (WHtR), and relative fat mas (RFM), to identify the best predictor of overweight and obesity in university students from Mexico. This is a cross-sectional survey with 697 university students from northern and central Mexico (448 women, and 249 men aged 18 -19 years). Data was collected during 2018. Overweight and obesity were calculated from those indices and for both, female and male students, the order of correlation between a pair of indices were WHtR vs. RFM > WHtR vs. WC > RFM vs. WC > WHtR vs. BMI > BMI vs. WC > RFM vs. BMI. It is concluded to use the WHtR and the RFM to better predict overweight and obesity in young Mexican university students.