Keimyung Med J.  2021 Jun;40(1):32-38. 10.46308/kmj.2021.00101.

Waist-to-Height Ratio as an Index for Screening Lifestyle-Related Diseases in Overweight Adults

Affiliations
  • 1Flower-be Dermatology Clinic, Daegu, Korea
  • 2Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea

Abstract

Central obesity carries more metabolic risks compared with total obesity assessed by Body mass index (BMI). Also, there’s paradoxical relationship between BMI and all-cause mortality in overweight group (23 kg/㎡ ≤ BMI < 25 kg/㎡). The aim of this study is to assess relationship between waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and lifestyle-related diseases such as metabolic syndrome, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes in overweight group, and to find the most predictable and useful obesity index for screening lifestyle-related diseases. A total of 3,994 overweight (23 kg/㎡ ≤ BMI < 25 kg/㎡) adults from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013-2015 (KNHANES VI) were included. We assessed the relationship between WHtR and metabolic syndrome components using multiple regression analysis, and assessed the relationship between abdominal obesity (WHtR ≥ 0.5) and lifestyle-related diseases using complex samples logistic regression analysis. Also, to find the most useful index to predict lifestyle-related diseases, we calculated the areas under the Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. WHtR was significantly related to metabolic syndrome components. Odds ratios of metabolic syndrome, hypertension and type 2 diabetes were 2.187, 1.445, 2.463 in abdominal obese group (WHtR ≥ 0.5), respectively. Area under the curve of WHtR was the most significantly highest among those of obesity indices. WHtR is a simple and useful obesity index to predict lifestyle-related diseases in overweight Korean adults. Further investigations for other obesity indices are needed to predict lifestyle-related diseases better.

Keyword

Body mass index; Lifestyle-related diseases; Metabolic syndrome; Waist-height ratio
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