Waist to hip ratio is considered to be better indicator of obesity in older adults over the body mass index (BMI) factor. It is the new research finding of scientists from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The results of their study are published in the online journal Annals of Epidemiology and it was funded by the National Institute on Aging. This article tries to gain further insight on this topic.
Knowledge Gained from the Research on Waist to Hip Ratio Indicator of Obesity:
- For the young and middle-aged people, both BMI and waist size are the decisive factors of obesity as is known from previous studies.
- The present study found that in old people through BMI did not play an important role, waist size indeed affected the fat levels.
- The circumference of waist to hip was found to be more helpful in predicting obesity especially in people belonging to the age group of 70-80 years.
- The researchers believe that aging can change the body proportions in such a manner that the BMI factor might get affected.
- Men and women between the ages 70-79 were studied for 12 years where their BMI, circumference of waist and ratio of this portion to hip were measured.
- The study found no association between death rate and BMI or waist circumference.
- However, such a link was found to exist with the ratio of waist-hip.
- For every 0.1 increase in this ratio, the relative raise in the death rate was 28 percent in women.
- In men, when this ratio crossed 1.0, the death rate risk increased by 75 percent.
- No such relation was found to exist with either BMI or the waist size.
Though this study on waist to hip ratio had certain limitations, the conclusions can be ignored, owing to the nexus of obesity with a range of physical abd mental complications.
