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Waist-to-hip ratio is a better indicator of health risk

Rehab Private Practice Alert, January 11, 2006

The relationship between waist size and hip size appears to be a more useful measure of health risk than body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight relative to height, says an article in the Washington Post based on a study published in The Lancet.

The findings suggest that men with waist-to-hip ratios greater than 0.95 are at heightened risk for a heart attack; women with ratios above 0.8 are at increased risk. A man with a 36-inch waist and 35-inch hips has a waist-to-hip ratio of 1.03 and an elevated risk for heart attack, says the Post. If he were to reduce his waist to less than 33 inches (assuming his hip measure remained unchanged), his ratio would drop to 0.94, putting him at lower risk.

Increasing hip circumference may be another, more surprising way to reduce risk. The study found a "protective effect" tied to a larger hip measurement; other, smaller studies have noted a similar phenomenon.

Still, while the study found the waist-to-hip ratio to be more predictive than waist circumference alone, the waist measurement appears to be a key component of the calculation. Other studies have found a link between that measure and elevated risk for metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, says the Post.

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