Trends in waist to thigh ratio among adults in US

M. F. Faramawi, S. Gandhi, J. L. Caffrey, M. Felini, S. Bae, K. P. Singh

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

The burden of obesity is increasing in the US. Waist to thigh ratio has been proposed as a measure of central obesity. Waist thigh ratio (WTR) has been proposed as an index for abdominal (central) obesity. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that an increased WTR is a strong predictor for type 2 diabetes and ischemic heart disease. WTR can be used as an inexpensive screening tool to detect unhealthy body shapes and to provide these individuals with the appropriate management to decrease their risk for heart disease and diabetes. Changes in waist to thigh ratio over time in representative samples of US adults were not examined before. Our objective was to examine temporal trends in waist thigh ratio among US adults. Analysis of data collected from 30,001 adults (>=20 years old) who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1988 to 1994 and continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted between 1999 and 2006. The crude and age standardized waist to thigh ratio means increased among males, females and different age groups between 1988 and 2006. Age, gender, race and time were statistically significant predictors for waist thigh ratio (P values<0.01). These results document the increase in abdominal obesity among U.S. adults between 1988 and 2006. Efforts should be made to slow the increasing waist thigh ratio among in the US population.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings - 20th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM 2013
EditorsJulia Piantadosi, Robert Anderssen, John Boland
PublisherModelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc. (MSSANZ)
Pages1992-1998
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9780987214331
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2013
Event20th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation - Adapting to Change: The Multiple Roles of Modelling, MODSIM 2013 - Held jointly with the 22nd National Conference of the Australian Society for Operations Research, ASOR 2013 and the DSTO led Defence Operations Research Symposium, DORS 2013 - Adelaide, Australia
Duration: 1 Dec 20136 Dec 2013

Publication series

NameProceedings - 20th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM 2013

Conference

Conference20th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation - Adapting to Change: The Multiple Roles of Modelling, MODSIM 2013 - Held jointly with the 22nd National Conference of the Australian Society for Operations Research, ASOR 2013 and the DSTO led Defence Operations Research Symposium, DORS 2013
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CityAdelaide
Period1/12/136/12/13

Keywords

  • Epidemiology
  • Obesity

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Trends in waist to thigh ratio among adults in US'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this