title: BMI and waist circumference as indicators of health among Samoan women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  High rates of obesity and chronic disease make establishment of effective indicators of risk for chronic disease important. The objective was to examine adequacy of anthropometric cut-off points as indicators of risk for chronic disease among Samoan women in Hawaii.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey of 55 Samoan women 18 to 28 years of age that included blood lipids, cholesterol, and glucose (including after a 2-hour oral glucose test); anthropometry (weight, height, waist circumference); and DXA of body composition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/World Health Organization (WHO) cut-off points for BMI, 22% of women were overweight and 58% were obese. Cholesterol, lipid, and glucose values were all linearly related to DXA body fat, BMI, and waist circumference. BMI and waist circumference at WHO/NIH cut-off points predicted levels of blood lipids and glucose that indicate elevated risk for disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  WHO/NIH cut-off points for BMI and waist circumference reflect risk indicators of chronic disease among young Samoan women in Hawaii.
authors: Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1955 East West Road, Ag Sci Bldg, Room 216, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. novotny@hawaii.edu
authors: Rachel
authors: R
authors: Novotny
authors: Vanessa
authors: V
authors: Nabokov
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: Derauf
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Grove
authors: Vinutha
authors: V
authors: Vijayadeva
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000596:Amino Acids; D000886:Anthropometry; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D002857:Chromium; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii; D006801:Humans; D009539:Nicotinic Acids; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D018947:Samoa / Q000208:ethnology; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D001786:Blood Glucose; D009539:Nicotinic Acids; D014280:Triglycerides; C015240:glucose tolerance factor; D002857:Chromium; D002784:Cholesterol