Abstract

Background: Abdominal obesity judged by increased waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis. One of the mechanisms postulated by which truncal obesity increases coronary risk is high blood pressure (BP). It is essential to identify the best anthropometric index in any population to predict cardiovascular risk.

Objective: The objective of this study was to establish the correlations between anthropometric data such as body mass index (BMI) and WHR with BP.

Materials and Methods: A representative clinically healthy sample of 150 individuals (75 men and 75 women) aged between 20 and 80 years was selected and anthropometric indices and BP were measured according to standard protocol. Pearson’s correlation coefficient test was applied to evaluate the correlation.

Result: There was a positive correlation between BMI and WHR with BP in both the male and female subjects. The WHR had strongest correlation in men and women with both systolic and diastolic BPs.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that WHR is a better predictor of cardiovascular risk than BMI.

Key words: Abdominal obesity, waist-to-hip ratio, cardiovascular risk