The appropriate waist circumference cut-off for Iranian population

To estimate the prevalence of obesity particularly abdominal obesity among adults aged between 19 to 65 years in five major cities in Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, the anthropometric measurements including weight, height, body mass index, waist and hip circumferences were performed in 5724 healthy adults, representative sample of Iranian population, in the urban areas of five great cities of Iran. The prevalence of obesity was calculated in each district. ROC curves were used to evaluate an optimal WC cutoff for predicting obesity.

Considering BMI categories, 38.5% were overweight and 19.7% were obese. Abdominal obesity by WC criteria was reported in 45.1% and 19.6% of women and men, respectively. The waist circumference cut-off points corresponding to BMI values of ≥ 30 kg/m2 were 99.5 cm for men and 94.25 cm for women.

The present study provides alarming evidences for health professionals and policy makers about the high prevalence of generalized and abdominal obesity in Iran.