• W Aekplakorn, V Kosulwat, and P Suriyawongpaisal.
• Community Medicine Center, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. rawap@mahidol.ac.th
• Int J Obes (Lond). 2006 Dec 1;30(12):1782-90.

ObjectiveTo examine the relationship of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) with cardiovascular risk factors and diabetes in Thai population.DesignA national cross-sectional survey of cardiovascular risk factors.SubjectsFive thousand and three hundred five Thai adults aged > or =35 years.MeasurementsBody weight, height, waist and hip circumference and cardiovascular risk factors including blood pressure, total plasma cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, triglyceride and fasting plasma glucose were measured. Age- and sex-specific means and prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors were calculated and compared among anthropometric measurements.ResultsThere were increasing trends of severity of cardiovascular risk factors and prevalence of morbidity conditions across increasing levels of BMI, WC, WHpR and WHtR categories. For age group > or =65 years, WC, WHpR and WHtR provided more consistent association with cardiovascular risk factors than BMI. Area under the curve indicated that measurement of central obesity could predict cardiovascular risk better than BMI. The optimal cutoff points for anthropometric measurements were in line with the Asia-Pacific recommendation; however, similar cutoff point for men and women between 82 and 85 cm was observed.ConclusionCentral obesity indices were slightly better associated with cardiovascular risk factors compared to BMI in Thai adults aged > or =35 years.

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