Does an abdominal obesity ratio of 0.81 mean waist-to-height ratio or waist-to-hip ratio, and how should it be used for weight management after confirmation?
The phrase ‘abdominal obesity ratio 0.81’ is not enough to know which ratio is meant. If it is waist-to-height ratio, 0.6 or higher may fall in the high central adiposity category; if it is waist-to-hip ratio, interpretation varies by sex and measurement method. Check waist circumference, BMI, blood pressure, and blood glucose together.
The calculation cannot be known from the phrase ‘abdominal obesity ratio’ alone. First check the measurement record to see whether it is waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), calculated by dividing waist circumference by height, or waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), calculated by dividing waist circumference by hip circumference. The two indicators have different denominators and cutoffs, so the number 0.81 alone cannot diagnose the amount of visceral fat or a disease.
If it is WHtR, NICE places adults with a BMI below 35 kg/m² in the increased central adiposity category at 0.5–0.59 and the high central adiposity category at 0.6 or higher. If it is WHR, consult sex-specific reference cutoffs in WHO materials; 0.90 for men and 0.85 for women cannot be used as universal diagnostic criteria for everyone. Confirm the measurement method for the waist and hips together with sex and the relevant population.
For either indicator, set a weight-management plan by considering waist circumference, BMI, blood pressure, glucose, and lipids, eating and activity, sleep, and medicines together. In Korean adults, abdominal obesity is generally defined as a waist circumference of 90 cm or more for men and 85 cm or more for women. Terms such as ‘pi deficiency’ and ‘phlegm-fluid’ may be a Korean-medicine interpretive framework for describing health status in care, but they do not replace the ratio calculation or a diagnosis of visceral fat.
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