Evaluation of waist circumference to predict general obesity and arterial hypertension in women in Greater Metropolitan Belo Horizonte, Brazil

• Published in: Cadernos de saúde pública Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 765 - 771
• Main Authors: Velasquez-Melendez, Gustavo, Kac, Gilberto, Valente, Joaquim Gonçalves, Tavares, Roberta, Silva, Cibele Queiroz da, Garcia, Emerson Silami
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz 01.06.2002; Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
• Subjects: Abdomen - anatomy & histology; Adolescent; Adult; Anthropometry; Body Composition; Body Mass Index; Brazil; Confidence Intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Hip; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - diagnosis; Middle Aged; Obesity; Obesity - diagnosis; Odds Ratio; Predictive Value of Tests; PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH; Sensitivity and Specificity; Urban Population; Women's Health; Brazil; Hypertension; Body Mass Index; Obesity; Women's Health; Índice de Massa Corporal; Saúde da Mulher; Hipertensão; Quadril; Obesidade; Hip
• ISSN: 0102-311X; 1678-4464; 0102-311X; 1678-4464
• DOI: 10.1590/s0102-311x2002000300020

This study examined the capacity of waist circumference (WC) to identify subjects with overweight (BMI >/=25) and obesity (BMI >/=30), in agreement with internationally recommended levels of action. Data were obtained from 791 women, 15-59 years old. After identifying overweight and obesity according to WC values, sensitivity and specificity were calculated to verify whether WC could be a good risk predictor for hypertension. Associations were tested by linear regression and logistic regression, controlling for confounding. WC cut-off points of 80cm and 88cm correctly identified 89.8% and 88.5% of women with overweight and obesity, respectively. Abdominal obesity (WC >/=88cm) was statistically associated with hypertension in the multivariate analysis (OR = 2.88; 95% CI: 1.77-4.67). Hypertension was identified with a sensitivity of 63.8% and 42.8%, and with a specificity of 68.0% and 83.3%, for WC >/=80 and >/=88, respectively. The proposed cut-off points for abdominal obesity can potentially distinguish individuals at risk for future obesity, but has only moderate power to predict individuals with high blood pressure.