Waist girth is a mandatory feature of International IDF clinical criteria for diagnosing the metabolic syndrome.
For the first time, population-specific cut-offs have been proposed to consider ethnic differences in the relationship between abdominal obesity and incidence of CHD and type 2 diabetes.
IDF clinical criteria are similar to those proposed by the NCEP-ATP III regarding metabolic markers used to diagnose the metabolic syndrome.
When managing the metabolic syndrome, the first step should be to reduce intra-abdominal (visceral) adipose tissue through lifestyle modification.
Most prospective studies have found a positive relationship between the metabolic syndrome (IDF criteria) and CVD.
Further research is required to establish specific waist circumference cut-offs for all regions of the world.
Evaluation of the association between the first observation and the longitudinal change in C-reactive protein, and all-cause mortality. Heart 2008;94:457-62