Appropriate Waist Circumference Cut-off Points among Iranian Adults: The First Report of the Iranian National Committee of Obesity

How well we can identify individuals at risk for mortality and morbidity using a simple measurement. Obviously obesity is a growing threat to heath worldwide and anthropometric indicators are good means to screen and identify high-risk people. It has been reported that compared to Body Mass Index (BMI), indices of central obesity are better discriminators for cardiovascular risk factors. Hence, waist circumference (WC) cut-off points of _94 and _80 Cm to de_ne overweight BMI (_25 kg/m2) and _102 and _88 Cm for obese BMI (_30 kg/m2) for men and women, respectively, have been recommended. These cut-off points are still being used in line with the Adult Treatment Panel III recommendation; however, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has declared that waist is a gender and ethnic-group speci_c indicator and this approach may provide a better assessment of obesity-related risk globally than using a single cut-off point.