If your waist is a large part of your height or wider than your hips, you’re more likely to have depression or anxiety — and this holds true for both men and women in this study.
Scientific Claim
Waist-to-height ratio and waist-to-hip ratio are independently associated with depressive or anxiety symptoms in both sexes, with adjusted odds ratios of 1.99–3.52, indicating that relative abdominal size compared to height or hip width is a consistent predictor of psychiatric morbidity across genders.
Original Statement
“WHtR... OR=3.515 (95% CI [1.263, 9.782]) for men and OR=1.987 (95% CI [1.158, 3.408]) for women... WHR... OR=6.312 (95% CI [2.211, 18.023]) for men and OR=2.259 (95% CI [1.364, 3.739]) for women.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
association
Can only show association/correlation
Assessment Explanation
The study uses appropriate statistical controls and reports adjusted ORs without implying causation. The language matches the observational design.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Abdominal Obesity Indices as Predictors of Psychiatric Morbidity in a Large-Scale Taiwanese Cohort
This study found that people with larger waists compared to their height or hip size were more likely to have depression or anxiety, and this was true for both men and women, making these measurements useful clues for spotting mental health risks.