Review Article

Role of Obesity in the Risk of Breast Cancer: Lessons from Anthropometry

Table 1

(a) Combined recommendations of body mass index and waist circumference cut-off points made for overweight or obesity, and association with disease risk. (b) World Health Organisation cut-off points and risk of metabolic complications.
(a)

Body mass indexObesity class Disease risk (relative to normal weight and waist circumference)

Men < 102 cmMen > 102 cm
Women < 88 cmWomen > 88 cm

Underweight<18.5
Normal18.5–24.9
Overweight25.0–29.9IncreasedHigh
Obesity30.0–34.9IHighVery high
35.0–39.9IIVery highVery high
Extreme obesity>40IIIExtremely highExtremely high

(b)

IndicatorCut-off pointsRisk of metabolic complications

Waist circumference Men > 94 cm; women > 80 cmIncreased
Waist circumferenceMen > 102 cm; women > 88 cmSubstantially increased
Waist-hip ratioMen ≥ 0.90 cm; women ≥ 0.85 cmSubstantially increased