Prediction of Overweight/Obesity By Anthropometric Indices in Male Students

Purpose: anthropometric indices such as body mass index, waist circumference (wc), waistto- hip ratio (whr), and waist-to-height ratio (whtr) are used to identify adolescent obesity and overweight because of their easiness, safety, and accuracy of measurement. this study aimed to evaluate the anthropometric indices in predicting overweight/obesity in male students. methods: in this descriptive-analytical study, 162 male students of hakim sabzevari university, sabzevar city, iran, were selected by a simple stratified-random sampling method. the checkerboard and new york test were used to check for musculoskeletal abnormalities. body composition indices, including height, weight, body mass index, wc, hip circumference, whr, and whtr, were measured. the obtained data were analyzed by anova test and receiver operating characteristics (roc). results: mean values wc, whr, the whtr in different groups of body mass index were significantly different. the area under the curve for wc (p=0.001), whr (p=0.001), and whtr (p=0.001) had a significant difference, too. conclusion: the present study showed that the area under the curve for whr has better detective ability for overweight and obesity than other variables such as wc and whtr.