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Ethnic Diversities, Hypertension and Global Cardiovascular Risk pp 183–187Cite as

Overweight and Obesity in Ethnic Minorities: Ethnic-Specific Cut-off Values of Obesity Indices

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Part of the book series: Updates in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Protection ((UHCP))

Abstract

Obesity is becoming a significant global threat to human health, with marked increases in obesity prevalence reported for most countries over the past decades. Apart from efforts to turn this tide, it is important to identify patients at early phases of obesity development to reduce their risk for the subsequent development of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. To determine whether a patient is obese, estimates such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference are widely used – with accepted cut-offs being 30 kg/m2 for BMI and ≥ 94 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women in terms of waist circumference. Since these cut-offs were defined based on European populations, it is important to use ethnic-specific cut-off values when evaluating patients from other ethnic groups. For many populations, alternate cut-offs were identified based on adverse health outcomes, and these cut-offs are in many instances markedly different from those used for European populations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART), South African Medical Research Council Unit for Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    Aletta Elisabeth Schutte

Authors
  1. Aletta Elisabeth Schutte
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Correspondence to Aletta Elisabeth Schutte .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy

    Pietro Amedeo Modesti

  2. University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School, and University, Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, NHS Trust, Coventry, UK

    Francesco P. Cappuccio

  3. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Department of Cardiovascular, Neural and Metabolic Sciences, San Luca Hospital, Milan, Italy

    Gianfranco Parati

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Schutte, A.E. (2018). Overweight and Obesity in Ethnic Minorities: Ethnic-Specific Cut-off Values of Obesity Indices. In: Modesti, P., Cappuccio, F., Parati, G. (eds) Ethnic Diversities, Hypertension and Global Cardiovascular Risk. Updates in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Protection. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93148-7_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93148-7_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93147-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93148-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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