A study on indices of body fat distribution for screening for obesity

In order to screen high risk obesity groups for coronary heart disease, the relationships between certain body fat distribution indices and coronary risk factors (CRFs) were analyzed. Body circumference at various measuring points and skinfold thickness were measured in 938 male clerical workers, and some indices of body fat distribution were calculated. The results are as follows: (1) The body mass index (BMI) showed the highest correlation with systolic blood pressure, and skinfold thickness showed a high correlation with serum total cholesterol (TC) and LDL-cholesterol. (2) In body fat distribution indices, the waist/stature ratio (WSR) showed the highest correlation with CRF measurements, especially with serum triglyceride (TG) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). (3) WSR showed the highest sensitivity and specificity for screening for abnormal hypertension groups TG and TC. (4) There were significant differences in the mean value for all CRF measurements between the high WSR group (> = 0.49) and the low WSR group (< 0.49), and the rates for high CRF persons in the high WSR group were almost twice those of the low WSR group. These results show that WSR is useful for the screening for obesity to prevent coronary heart disease.