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Review
. 2006 Sep 30;333(7570):695-8.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.333.7570.695.

ABC of obesity. Assessment of obesity and its clinical implications

Thang S Han  1 , Naveed Sattar, Mike Lean
Affiliations
Review

ABC of obesity. Assessment of obesity and its clinical implications

Thang S Han et al. BMJ. .
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
For weight measurement subjects should ideally be in light clothing and bare feet, fasting, and with empty bladder; repeat measures are best made at same time of day
Figure 2
Figure 2
The correlation of visceral fat with waist circumference is strong. Adapted from Han TS et al. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1997;21: 587-93
Figure 3
Figure 3
Incidence of metabolic syndrome in people with different categories of body mass index and of waist circumference action levels (action level 1=94 cm in men and 80 cm in women, action level 2=102 cm in men and 88 cm in women). Adapted from Han TS et al. Obes Res 2002;10: 923-31
Figure 4
Figure 4
Prevalence of diabetes (a); hypercholesterolaemia, low HDL (high density lipoprotein), or hypertension (b); shortness of breath (c); and poor quality of life (d) in people with large waist. Adapted from Lean ME et al. Lancet 1998;351: 853-6
Figure 5
Figure 5
Accuracy in measuring waist circumference can be improved with use of a specially designed tape measure, although a change in body fat may not be detected by waist circumference in very fat people, when the abdominal fat mass is pendulous. During waist measurement, patients should be asked not to hold in their stomach, and a constant-tension, spring-loaded tape device reduces errors from over-enthusiastic tightening during measurement
Figure 6
Figure 6
Variation in human body fat distribution in men and women. In each pair of men and pair of women (subjects A and B), the body mass indices are similar. However, the waist circumference and waist to hip ratios of subjects B are much higher, indicating a greater distribution of body fat around the abdomen as well as a decreased amount of muscle mass around the hips
Figure 7
Figure 7
Images of different fat compartments by computed tomography. The inner elliptic ring shows intra-abdominal fat
Figure 7
Figure 7
Images of different fat compartments by computed tomography. The inner elliptic ring shows intra-abdominal fat
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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