A review of body mass index and waist circumference as markers of obesity and coronary heart disease risk in persons with chronic spinal cord injury

Study design:Literature review.Background:Increased fat mass and coronary heart disease (CHD) are secondary complications of chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). In able-bodied populations, body mass index (BMI, body weight (kg)/height (m2)) is a widely used surrogate marker of obesity and predictor of CHD risk. Waist circumference, an accurate and reproducible surrogate measure of abdominal visceral adipose tissue, is also associated with CHD …