Waist to hip ratio

Singh, D. (1993). Body shape and women s attractiveness the critical role of waist-to-hip ratio. Human Nature 4, 297-321. 

The second case-control study from Norway (Biong et ah, 2006) was published in 2006. In this study, 112 myocardial infarction cases and 107 controls were enrolled. Subcutaneous adipose tissue samples were drawn within 4 days of the myocardial infarction and the fatty acid composition of the adipose tissue was analyzed. The study reported that the proportion of 15 0 in adipose tissue was inversely related to the risk of a first myocardial infarction. Also, other fatty acids (14 0, 14 1, and 17 1) associated with the intake of milk fat were inversely related to a first myocardial infarction. Most of these relationships remained (all except between 14 0 and MI) after adjustment for age, sex, waist-to-hip ratio, smoking, and family history of CHD. 

South Asian populations. People of South Asian origin in the UK have a high prevalence of coronary heart disease and stroke, central obesity (as evidenced by high waist-to-hip ratio), insulin resistance, non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes and hypertension (Cappuccio 1997 Kain et al. 2002 Bhopal et al. 2005). This increase in vascular risk seems to be partly a result of genetic susceptibility, such as high serum lipoprotein A levels, and partly dietary- and lifestyle-induced changes in lipid levels. 

Some authorities believe that changing the standard from BMI to waist-to-hip ratio would improve the accuracy of cardiovascular risk determinations. That was the conclusion of the INTERHEART study involving more than twenty-seven thousand participants from fifty-two countries. 

Various Tvays of classifying fat, as well as the techniques of the skinfold lest and waist-to-hip ratio, were discussed earlier. The following material explains in detail a number of techniques for fat measurement, and illustrates their use via several case studies. A direct measurement of total body fat can only be made by analyzing cadavers (dead people). The amount of fat was correlated with the cadaver s height, width, underwater weight, and skin surface area. These results have resulted in the creation of several techniques for indirectly assessing body fat in... 

Waist to hip ratio. This ratio is acquired using a tape measure and by dividing (circumference at the waist) / (circumference at the hip). This method is commonly used by nutrition researchers to assess if a subject has a male-type obesity or female-type obesity. 

Measurement of the waist-to-hip ratio has proven to be useful in diagnosing male-type or female-t3q>e obesity. This ratio is acquired by measuring the circumference around the waist, and about the hips, and performing division. The units of each measurement is centimeters, while the ratio has no unit. A waist/hip ratio of 1.0 or greater (for men) or 0.8 or greater (for women) is associated with a distinct increase in health risk for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), hypertension, and atherosclerosis (Bjomtorp, 1985). 

The waist-to-hip ratio has been used instead of the waist circumference as a measure of abdominal obesity in an attempt to correct for differences between individuals with respect to body type or bone structure. In this measurement, the waist circumference is divided by the hip circumference (measured at the iliac crest). The average waist-to-hip ratio for men is 0.93 (with a range of 0.75-1.10), and the average for women was 0.83 (with a range of 0.70-1.00). However, the waist circumference may actually correlate better with intraabdominal fat and the associated risk factors than the waist-to-hip ratio. 

Boragian et al. did examine waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and compared it with breast cancer mortality in a study of 603 patients with incidental breast cancer in 1991-1992. The follow-up was 10 years. WHR was directly related to breast cancer mortality in postmenopausal women (for highest quartile vs. lowest) in ER-positive postmenopausal women. The menopausal state affects the role of obesity in breast cancer. Prior to menopause, obese women have a lower risk for breast cancer compared with normalsized women. 

UCP3 11q13 circumference, waist-to-hip ratio Obesity, BMI BMI Corbalan Otabe et al. ... 

LPL 8p22 Body weight, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio Body weight, BMI, waist circumference BMI, fat mass, percent body fat. Sakane et al. Shiwaku et al. Garenc et al. ... 

Jiang et al. [58] examined nut and seed consumption and inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and fibrinogen) in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. This cross-sectional analysis included 6080 U.S. participants aged45-84 years. Nut and seed consumption was categorized as never/rare, less than once/week, one to four times per week, and five or more times/ week. Associations of nut and seed consumption with these biomarkers were not modified by BMI, waist to hip ratio, or race/ethnicity. Frequent nut and seed consumption was associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers, which may partially explain the inverse association of nut consumption with levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and fibrinogen. 

Increased serum RBP4 levels are associated with insulin resistance in postmenopausal and elderly women (An et al. 2009 Suh et al. 2010). In addition, elevated serum RBP4 is coupled with metabolic syndrome components, such as increased BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, serum triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure. Interestingly, exercise training is accompanied by a reduction of serum RBP4 only in subjects in whom insulin resistance improved. Interventions that ameliorated insulin resistance... 

The beneficial effect of metformin alone had already been seen in a previous double-blind study by the same authors [54 ], in which 40 in-patients with schizophrenia were randomized for 12 weeks to olanzapine 15 mg/day plus metformin 750 mg/day (n = 20) or olanzapine 15 mg/ day plus placebo (n = 20). Of the 40 patients, 37 completed treatment all had a restricted diet. Metformin attenuated the increases in weight (0.5 kg versus 5.4 kg), BMI (0.1 versus 1.8), waist circumference (0.3 cm versus 1.2 cm), and waist-to-hip ratios (0.003 versus 0.184). 

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