Clinical measures of obesity and weight loss in men

OBJECTIVES: (?) To determine the relationship between waist circumference a nd body weight in overweight men both before and after participation in a w eight loss program; and (2) to make recommendations for the appropriate use of these measures at various stages of weight toss. DESIGN: Weight and waist circumference measures were taken in two diverse g roups of men both before and 1-2y after commencing a men's 'waist loss' pro gram. Regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between weig ht and waist measures. SUBJECTS: One group of 42 retired Caucasian men from New South Wales, and o ne group of 45 indigenous men from the Torres Strait region of Northern Aus tralia. RESULTS: There were differences in the relationships of weight and waist ci rcumference before the program and change in weight and change in waist cir cumference after weight loss. These differences were similar in both groups of men (indigenous men and retired Caucasian men), with a 1 cm waist loss being on average equivalent to about 3/4 kg, but with wide variability, sug gesting inter-individual variation in fat losses from different depots. Thi s variation suggests that neither weight nor waist alone is a sufficient me asure of fat loss for men. CONCLUSIONS: Weight and waist circumference should both be used at various stages in the clinical situation to assess change in body fat in men involv ed in obesity reduction.