The Study
Redefining Obesity in the Indonesian Population: The Critical Role of Waist-to-Height Ratio in Screening for Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension
This study looked at a bunch of people in Indonesia and found that those with a higher waist-to-height ratio were more likely to have diabetes or high blood pressure. But it didn't watch them over time to see if the big waist came first or if the disease made their waist bigger — so we can't say one causes the other.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study found that how big your waist is compared to your height is a better way to tell if you're at risk for diabetes or high blood pressure than just using your weight and height (BMI).
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — using the global BMI cutoff of 25 misses nearly half of Indonesians with diabetes; lowering it and using waist-to-height ratio catches more at-risk people earlier.
- 2For Indonesian adults, a waist-to-height ratio above 0.53 for women and 0.54 for men was linked to diabetes; above 0.51–0.52 was linked to high blood pressure.
- 3Lower BMI cutoffs (22.27–22.72 kg/m²) worked better than the global 25 kg/m².
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism
Year
2025
Authors
R. Sartika, F. S. Sigit, Nurul Husna Mohd Shukri, E. Purwanto, Jasrida Yunita, Pika Novriani Lubis
Related Content
Claims (6)
People with a higher waist-to-hip ratio have a higher rate of metabolic and cardiovascular disease.
Among 7,699 Indonesian adults, waist-to-height ratio was more strongly linked to diabetes and high blood pressure than other body measurements like BMI or waist circumference.
In Indonesian adults, a waist-to-height ratio of 0.54 for men and 0.53 for women identifies diabetes, and 0.52 for men and 0.51 for women identifies hypertension; these values are lower than the global standard of 0.5, meaning the global standard misses more cases of cardiometabolic risk in this population.
In Indonesian adults, using a BMI of 25 kg/m² to identify overweight people misses many cases of diabetes; using lower thresholds—22.72 kg/m² for men and 22.27 kg/m² for women—detects more diabetes cases without increasing false positives.
In Indonesian adults, using waist circumference thresholds of 83.35 cm for men and 80 cm for women detects more cases of diabetes and hypertension than the global standard, but it is less accurate than using waist-to-height ratio, meaning height must be considered to improve detection.
Among adults in Indonesia, people with a higher waist-to-height ratio have a higher rate of diabetes and high blood pressure, even when accounting for their overall body weight.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.