Identification of anthropometric measurements as health indices

The use of body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR) have been strongly recommend by some Medical Associations for the professional physical examination to evaluate the health-risk. Other anthropometric measurements and more precise indices will be needed for quick references in the diagnosis of common diseases such as obesity, hypertension, coronary aortic disease, cerebral vascular accident, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. New technologies developed through the research program at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH) allow researchers to capture high resolution data points in three-dimensions of a human body surface within 12 seconds. A health indices (HI) is suggested as a stronger predictor of syndrome X than the BMI and WHR. These findings support that the HI may be useful as simple and inexpensive screening tools to select individuals eligible for more sophisticated and costly serum lipid determinations.