The effect of weight loss on waist circumference and hip circumference of overweight and obese women

Waist and hip circumference play important roles in epidemiologic and clinical studies. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of weight loss on the waist and hip circumference of overweight and obese women.

This is a before-after experimental study carried out on 289 women between the ages of 18 and 73 years old. Demographic data were gathered. Weight and height was measured using standard protocols and Body Mass Index (BMI) was also calculated. Waist circumference (WC) –the minimum between the costal margin and iliac crest- and hip circumference (HC) -at the greater trochanters- were measured. Waist to hip ratio (WHR) was also calculated. Obesity was defined with a BMI >30 kg/m², overweight with a 25 ≤ BMI ≤ 30 kg/m² and abdominal obesity with a WHR ≥ 0.8.

The mean age of our subjects was 34.9±11.5 years. At the beginning of the study, mean W and BMI was 81.8±14.6 Kg and 31.8±5.4 kg/m², mean WC was 95.3 ±10.3 cm, mean HC was 114.6±10.8 cm and mean WHR was 0.83±0.06. Two months after the diet recommended for weight reduction, W, BMI, WC, HC and WHR were 77.8±14.5 Kg, 30.4 ±5.4 kg/m², 91.1±10.5 cm, 111.8±11 cm and 0.81±0.06 respectively (P value <0.05 for all).

Our findings suggest that in obese and overweight women a low calorie diet results in a significant weight loss with significant reduction in BMI, WC, HC, WHR. We also demonstrated that these changes in WC and HC have a direct connection with their primary BMI.