Evaluation of waist circumference to predict general obesity and arterial hypertension in women in Greater Metropolitan Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Abstract

This study examined the capacity of waist circumference (WC) to identify subjects with overweight (BMI superscript three25) and obesity (BMI superscript three30), in agreement with internationally recommended levels of action. Data were obtained from 791 women, 15-59 years old. After identifying overweight and obesity according to WC values, sensitivity and specificity were calculated to verify whether WC could be a good risk predictor for hypertension. Associations were tested by linear regression and logistic regression, controlling for confounding. WC cut-off points of 80cm and 88cm correctly identified 89.8% and 88.5% of women with overweight and obesity, respectively. Abdominal obesity (WC superscript three88cm) was statistically associated with hypertension in the multivariate analysis (OR = 2.88; 95% CI: 1.77-4.67). Hypertension was identified with a sensitivity of 63.8% and 42.8%, and with a specificity of 68.0% and 83.3%, for WC superscript three80 and superscript three88, respectively. The proposed cut-off points for abdominal obesity can potentially distinguish individuals at risk for future obesity, but has only moderate power to predict individuals with high blood pressure.

Keywords

• Obesity
• Women's Health
• Hip
• Hypertension
• Body Mass Index