LAUSR

Editor—Waist circumference is at least as good an indicator of total body fat as BMI or skin fold thicknesses. It does not, however, distinguish visceral from subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue. An alternative anthropometric measure that could be used is the sagittal abdominal diameter, which has shown a strong correlation with abdominal fat, cardiovascular risk, sudden death, and overall mortality. Sagittal abdominal diameter showed the strongest correlation with visceral abdominal adipose tissue in both normal/overweight and obese groups within both sexes. In addition, waist circumference was more highly correlated with subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue than with visceral abdominal adipose tissue in all the subgroups.