Person—waist circumference (measured), total centimetres NN[N].N

Comments:

This metadata item is recommended for use in population surveys and health care settings.

It is recommended that in population surveys, sociodemographic data including ethnicity should be collected, as well as other risk factors including physiological status (e.g. pregnancy), physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption. Summary statistics may need to be adjusted for these variables.

National health metadata items currently exist for sex, date of birth, country of birth, Indigenous status and smoking. Metadata items are being developed for physical activity.

Presentation of data:

Means, 95% confidence intervals, medians and centiles should be reported to one decimal place. Where the sample permits, population estimates should be presented by sex and 5-year age groups. However 5-year age groups are not generally suitable for children and adolescents. Estimates based on sample surveys may need to take into account sampling weights.

For consistency with conventional practice, and for current comparability with international data sets, recommended centiles are 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, 75, 85, 90 and 95. To estimate the 5th and 95th centiles, a sample size of at least 200 is recommended for each group for which the centiles are being specified.

For reporting purposes, it may be desirable to present waist circumference in categories. It is recommended that 5-cm groupings are used for this purpose. Waist circumference should not be rounded before categorisation. The following categories may be appropriate for describing the waist circumferences of Australian men, women children and adolescents, although the range will depend on the population.

Waist < 35 cm

35 cm = Waist < 40 cm

40 cm = Waist < 45 cm

... in 5 cm categories

105 cm = Waist < 110 cm

Waist => 110 cm