Abstract
Objective: To evaluate waist size as a criterion for metabolic syndrome based on medical check-up data.
Results: Waist size was well correlated with Body Mass Index. There were increases in metabolic disorders and hypertension for a waist size of greater than 80 cm for obese women and greater than 85 cm for obese men. However, considering physical characteristics, the ratio of waist size to height was found to be more useful than waist size in screening for metabolic syndrome for both men and women and we would like to propose that a ratio of over 0.5 be used as a criterion for this purpose.
Conclusions: The waist size above which obese women develop metabolic disorders and hypertension is less than that for obese men. This suggests that other factors than visceral fat could be involved in metabolic disorders and hypertension in obese women.
