WAIST HEIGHT RATIO (WHTR), BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) AND SERUM CHOLESTEROL

Background & Aims: with obesity moving toward global epidemiology, the study was undertaken to identify the simpler and better indicator (WHtR and BMI) for identifying body fat level ( measured by studying serum cholesterol in present study). Study was carried out in 100 volunteers (50 males and 50 females) in research laboratory of department of Physiology, PIMSR, Baroda in the age group of 18- 70 years. To find correlation between WHtR, BMI and serum total cholesterol and LDL and to compare which index ( WHtR or BMI) signifies better correlation with serum total cholesterol and LDL and hence cardiovascular status. Methods: Serum cholesterol was estimated using colorimetric method. BMI and WHtR were calculated by mathematical equation after recording height (with stadiometer), weight (with digital weighing scale) and waist circumference (with measuring tape). Result: The result though insignificant (p value 0.092, 0.087 by Chi square), the BMI showed better correlation with serum total cholesterol and LDL than WHtR