Abstract

In our opinion there is a shortage of scientific reports on correlations between WHtR and serum lipid levels in elderly in postmenopausal women. The PubMed search results only in merely one study focused on WHtR variability as a function of serum lipid levels, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and high-density cholesterol (HDL-C). Additionally, all the reports on the correlations between WHtR and cardiovascular risks follow a standard approach by which WHtR is defined by the two ranges: WHtR < 0.5 and WHtR ≥ 0.5. Presently, a diversity of reports suggest that adverse changes in lipid levels are not connected with an increment in BMI but with an increase in WC. This clearly indicates a lack of direct association between body indexes and cardiovascular health level with body height. In this report we study the relations among Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference, Waist to Hip Ratio, Waist to Height Ratio, and serum lipid levels [TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C] in a healthy group of postmenopausal women. The results of this study allows to draw the following conclusions: (1) BMI and WC may be exchangably used for the prediction of cardiovascular health, (2) WHtR cutoff value in postmenopausal women requires adjustment for menopausal status and , most probably, age and gender.

Keywords: Obesity; Cardiovascular health; Body mass index; Waist circumference; Waist to hip ratio; Waist to height ratio