Polymeris et al showed that the average of the circumferences at 8 body sites correlates with the body mass index (BMI) in adult women. The authors are from Alexandra Hospital in Athens.
Patient selection: adult woman
Sites with circumference in centimeters:
(1) neck (just above cricoid cartilage)
(2) waist (midway between the lower rib and iliac crest)
(3) hip (widest portion of the buttocks)
(4) arm (midway between the acromion and olecranon process)
(5) forearm (at the widest portion of the forearm)
(6) wrist (around the bony part of the wrist)
(7) thigh (10 cm above the upper edge of the patella)
(8) ankle (at the narrowest point)
average upper body circumference =
= SUM(neck, waist, arm, foream, wrist) / 5
average lower body circumference =
= SUM(thigh, ankle, hip) / 3
average body circumference = ABC =
= SUM(8 body site circumferences) / 8
LOG10(BMI) =
= (1.945 * LOG10(ABC)) - 1.792
An ABC > 47.1 cm is associated with obesity (BMI >= 30).
An ABC > 44 cm is associated with being overweight (BMI >= 25).
