Body fat distribution, plasma lipids, and lipoproteins

The relation of body fat distribution as measured by the ratio of waist to hip circumferences (WHR) to plasma levels of lipids and lipoproteins was studied in 713 men and 520 women who were employed by two Milwaukee companies. Quetelet index (kg/m2), waist girth, hip girth, and WHR were each positively related to levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein B, and the ratio of total to high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. In addition, the anthropometric measures were inversely associated with levels of HDL cholesterol. (Controlling for age, alcohol intake, exercise level, current smoking status, and oral contraceptive use only slightly reduced the strength of the correlations.) In addition, WHR and Quetelet Index were independently related to lipid and lipoprotein levels, and the magnitudes of the associations were roughly equivalent. For example, the mean (covariate-adjusted) triglyceride level among men in the upper tertile of the Quetelet Index was 37 mg/dl higher than for men in the lower tertile of the Quetelet Index; the corresponding difference according to WHR tertiles (upper to lower) was 39 mg/dl (p less than 0.01 for both effects). These findings indicate that in healthy men and women a less favorable lipid and lipoprotein profile is associated with elevated levels of both Quetelet Index and WHR.