title: Prevalence and determinants of central obesity and age-specific waist:hip ratio of people in five cities: the Indian Women's Health Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the prevalence of central obesity and age-specific waist:hip ratio of urban women from five Indian cities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 6-12 urban streets in different parts of India using similar methods of sample selection and criteria of diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We randomly selected 3212 women, aged 25-64 years, from Moradabad (n = 902), Trivandrum (n = 760), Calcutta (n = 365), Nagpur (n = 405), and Bombay (n = 780). Evaluation was by a questionnaire administered by a physician and a dietician, a physical examination, and anthropometric measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalence of central obesity among the total number of women was 55.0%, with the highest prevalence in Calcutta (62.2%) and the lowest in Bombay (47.4%). Waist:hip ratio was 0.85 +/- 0.13 (mean +/- SD) with the highest ratio for women in Calcutta (0.87 +/- 0.12) and the lowest for women in Moradabad (0.84 +/- 0.16). After pooling of data from all five cities, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, regardless of age, body mass index (> 23 kg/m2; odds ratio 1.12), sedentary lifestyle (odds ratio 2.51), and family history of obesity (odds ratio 2.15) were strongly associated with central obesity. Excess intake of fat was weakly associated with central obesity but age was not a risk factor for central obesity, although the prevalence was highest among those aged over 55 years in Moradabad, Calcutta, and Nagpur.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The overall prevalence of central obesity among the urban women of India has increased, more so in Calcutta and Trivandrum. Body mass index, sedentary lifestyle, and family history of excess intake of fat were significant risk factors for central obesity.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Nutrition, Medical Hospital and Research Centre, Moradabad, India.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beegom
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: De
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haque
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Dube
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Wander
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kundu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Simhadri
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Paranjpe
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Kalikar
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Rastogi
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Thakur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001824:Body Constitution; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats