The predictive value of anthropometric indices of body fat distribution and cardiovascular disease in Caucasian (CC) women has been well documented. However, knowledge regarding the relationship between body fat distribution and health related variables (HRV) in additional populations of African American (AA) and Hispanic (HISP) women appears limited. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if selected anthropometric indices of body fat distribution including waist (WST), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WSHT) are related to HRV in overweight premenopausal CC, AA, and HISP women. The HRV include serum lipoproteins, triglycerides (TG), glucose (Glu), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP respectively). METHODS: In total, two hundred forty premenopausal overweight women CC = 110, AA = 90, and HISP = 40 volunteering for a weight loss program were recruited for this study. Correlation analyses were used to determine the relationship of fat distribution with HRV partialling out for age and body mass index. RESULTS: In CC women, it was found that WST was significantly related to high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (p = .047), total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio (T-chol/HDL-C) (p = .023), TG (p = .001), and DBP (p = .017). WHR was significantly related to HDL-C (p < .000), T-chol/HDL-C (p < .000), TG (p < .000), Glu (p = .003), SBP (p = .012), and DBP (p = .015). WSHT ratio was not significnatly related to any HRV in CC women. In AA women, WST was significantly related to HDL-C (p = .009), SBP (p = .001), and DBP (p = .003), while WHR was significantly related to Glu (p = .037), SBP (p = .005), and DBP (p = .006). WSHT was also significantly related to HDL-C (p = .031) and TG (p = .016) in AA women. In HISP women neither WST, WHR, nor WSHT were significantly related to any HRV. CONCLUSION: In summary, indices of body fat distribution show a significant relationship with several HRV in CC and AA women. Since no relationship was found between fat distribution and HRV in HISP women, more research is warranted to determine fat distribution measures that are significantly associated with HRV.