Accuracy of Self-Measurement of Waist and Hip Circumference in Men and Women

Abstract

Although the link between obesity and chronic diseases is well established ( (1) National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, Food and Nutrition Board. Diet And Health. National Academy Press, Washington, DC1989 Google Scholar ), large prospective studies suggest that abdominal adiposity, rather than lower body fat, is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, and glucose intolerance ( (2) Lloyd C.E. Wing R.R. Orchard T.J. Waist to hip ratio and psychosocial factors in adults with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus the pittsburgh epidemiology of diabetes complications study. Metabolism. 1996; 45: 268-272 Google Scholar , (3) Bouchard C. Bray G.A. Hubbard V.S. Basic and clinical aspects of regional fat distribution. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990; 52: 946-950 Google Scholar , (4) Vague J. The degree of masculine differentiation of obesities a factor determining predisposition to diabetes, atherosclerosis, gout, and uric calculous disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 1956; 4: 20-34 Google Scholar , (5) Scaglione R. Ganguzza A. Corrao S. Parrinello G. Merlino G. Dichiara M.A. Arnone S. D’Aubert M.D. Licata G. Central obesity and hypertension pathophysiologic role of renal haemodynamics and function. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1995; 19: 403-409 Google Scholar , (6) Richelsen B. Pedersen S.B. Associations between different anthropometric measurements of fatness and metabolic risk parameters in non-obese, healthy, middle-aged men. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1995; 19: 169-174 Google Scholar , (7) Thompson C J. Ryu J.E. Craven T.E. Kahl F.R. Crouse J.R. Central adipose distribution is related to coronary atherosclerosis. Arterioscler Thromb. 1991; 11: 327-333 Google Scholar , (8) Rosmond R. Lapidus L. Bjorntorp P. Mental distress, obesity and body fat distribution in middle-aged men. Obes Res. 1996; 4: 245-252 Google Scholar , (9) Baumgartner R.N. Heymsfield S.B. Roche A.F. Human body composition and the epidemiology of chronic disease. Obes Res. 1995; 3: 73-95 Google Scholar , (10) Hodgson J.M. Wahlqvist M.L. Balazs N.D.H. Boxall J.A. Coronary atherosclerosis in relation to body fatness and its distribution. Int J Obesity. 1994; 18: 41-46 Google Scholar , (11) Filipovsky J. Ducimetiere P. Darne B. Richard J.L. Abdominal body mass distribution and elevated blood pressure are associated with increased risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and cancer in middle-aged men. Results of a 15- to 20-year follow-up in the Paris prospective study. Int J Obesity. 1993; 17: 197-203 Google Scholar ). The waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is the most commonly used anthropometric method to distinguish between predominately lower vs predominately upper body fat distribution. Because it is rapid and noninvasive, the WHR has excellent possibilities as a tool to be used by laypersons untrained in anthropometric measurement techniques. This study was designed to determine the accuracy of waist and hip measurements performed by laypersons on themselves, and to determine the sensitivity and specificity for self-measurements and for assigning upper body fat excess using self-measurements.