Waist circumference: a better index of fat location than WHR for predicting lipid profile in overweight/obese Iranian women

ABSTRACT

We carried out a clinical cross-sectional study on 728 overweight and obese women aged 20-60 years during July 2005-May 2006 in Sistan and Baluchestan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Body mass index [BMI] and waist circumference [WC] showed significant correlation with total cholesterol [TC], triglycerides [TG] and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. After adjustment for age and BMI, this was also true for WC with TC and TG. There was no such correlation between waist-to-hip ratio [WHR] and lipid profile. Hence, WC was a better anthropometric index of fat location than WHR to estimate lipid profile in overweight and obese adult women