Body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio and waist/height in adult population from Backa and Banat – the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Background: Nutritional status is vital in the assessment of physical fitness and health status of populations.Aim: This study aimed to describe relationships between BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist/height (W/Ht) and factors such as education, residence, origin and ethnic belonging among adults in Backa and Banat.Subjects and methods: The study was conducted in 47 villages in the north of Serbia. The tested group consisted of 4247 individuals, aged 20+.Results: The problem of overweight and obesity was more common among men (66%) than women (49.71%). In the group with normal BMI, the majority of men and women were characterized by normal WHR and W/Ht values, but among them there were also groups with incorrect WHR (males ≥ 0.95, females ≥ 0.8) and W/Ht (≥ 0.5). Socio-demographic factors had a little impact on BMI, WHR and W/Ht in men in certain age groups while their impact was higher in women. These factors, especially education and origin, had a significant impact on nutritional status in young and middle-aged women, whereas they were not significant in older female participants (> 60).Conclusion: Despite the fact that this part of the country has undergone intensive social changes since the last decade of 20th century, the nutritional status of the population has not significantly changed.