What is the reason for waist to hip ratio better than BMI?
Waist-hip Ratio Better Than BMI For Gauging Obesity In Elderly, Study Finds ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2009) — Body mass index (BMI) readings may not be the best gauge of obesity in older adults, according to new research from UCLA endocrinologists and geriatricians. Instead, they say, the ratio of waist size to hip size may be a better indicator when it comes to those over 70. In a new study published online in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Epidemiology, researchers from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA found that the waist-to-hip circumference ratio was a better yardstick for assessing obesity in high-functioning adults between the ages of 70 and 80, presumably because the physical changes that are part of the aging process alter the body proportions on which BMI is based. “Basically, it isn’t BMI that matters in older adults — it’s waist size,” said Dr. Preethi Srikanthan, UCLA assistant professor of endocrinology and the study’s lead investigator. “Other studies have su
n this study, WHR conveyed a striking prediction of outcomes in women with known cardiovascular disease. Body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) has limitations in predicting risk for cardiovascular events; waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC) might be independent predictors of risk. To learn more, researchers examined data on 6620 men and 2182 women (mean age, 66) with known cardiovascular disease who were enrolled in the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE) study. At baseline, height, weight, and waist and hip circumference were measured by standardized protocol, and BMI and WHR were calculated. Participants were classified into tertiles for BMI, for WHR, and for WC, and event rates during a median 4.5 years of follow-up were compared between the highest and lowest tertiles of each. In an adjusted model among all participants, high BMI was significantly associated only with an increased rate of myocardial infarction. High WHR and WC were each significantly associated wit
Waist-to-hip ratio is a better predictor of all-cause mortality than body mass index in those over 70, according to US research, the latest to criticise BMI … Sources: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_1_0_t&usg=AFQjCNG63XiBiKhYOSSnbwsbBo3ampUiqw&sig2=qZ134J-lznS9A05nMn__Zg&cid=1306319697&ei=F7GvSpC5B5XM8ASoypPVAw&rt=SEARCH&vm=STANDARD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pulsetoday.co.uk%2Fstory.
