Anthropometric indexes and cardiovascular risk in Ecuadorian university students: A comparison with international references

Abstract

Some anthropometric measures help evaluate the cardiovascular (CV) risk and body fat areas considered more critical for CV risk than excess weight. This research aims to obtain anthropometric measurements from university students to establish risk predictors of cardio-metabolic alterations or cardiovascular disease (CVD). A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out. Variables studied were height (m), weight (kg), body mass index (BMI), abdominal perimeter, waist-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). One thousand two hundred fifty young adults participated; 62.4% were women, 31.04% were overweight, and 14.32% were obese. Mean values of all the evaluated parameters were lower in women than in men [height (1.58m vs. 1.70m), weight (61.46 kg vs. 76.38 kg), BMI (24.66 Kg/m2 vs. 26.32 Kg/m2), abdominal perimeter (78.49 cm vs. 88.81 cm), WHR (0.79 vs. 0.87), and WHtR (0.50 and 0.52)]. The mean BMI in men was overweight but normal in women. There were no significant differences between both genders concerning abdominal perimeter and WHR. Finally, mean WHtR was high in both women and men, establishing a prediction of CVD risk for both genders. Keywords: Body Mass Index, Waist-Hip Ratio, Waist-Height Ratio, Medical Students, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cardiometabolic Risk Factors