Obesity: how to define central adiposity?

Evaluation of: Parikh RM, Joshi SR, Pandia K. Index of central obesity is better than waist circumference in defining metabolic syndrome. Metab. Syndr. Relat. Disord. 7(6), 525–527 (2009).The metabolic syndrome, a constellation of anthropometric and metabolic abnormalities, has been studied extensively in the last decade, as well as its associated increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Various definitions and criteria have been used to diagnose the metabolic syndrome. One proposed parameter is waist circumference cut-offs according to gender and ethnicity. A novel parameter called the index of central obesity (ICO) was suggested. It takes into account the height and the waist circumference of the subjects. The article under evaluation studies the usefulness of ICO over waist circumference alone in the International Diabetes Federation definition of the metabolic syndrome in comparison with the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III definition. The results showed that the modified International Diabetes Federation definition of the metabolic syndrome incorporating ICO as a parameter of central obesity appears to improve sensitivity but reduce specificity. The modified definition identified the presence of the metabolic syndrome in shorter subjects with a waist circumference smaller than the suggested cut-offs.