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Objective: To determine the frequency of cardiovascular risk factors in people categorised by previously defined “action g126 levels” of waist circumference.

Design: Prevalence study in a random population sample.

Setting: Netherlands.

Subjects: 2183 men and 2698 women aged 20-59 years selected at random from the civil registry of Amsterdam and Maastricht.

Main outcome measures: Waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m²)), total plasma cholesterol concentration, high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, blood pressure, age, and lifestyle.

Results: A waist circumference exceeding 94 cm in men and 80 cm in women correctly identified subjects with body mass index of >/=25 and waist to hip ratios >/=0.95 in men and >/=0.80 in women with a sensitivity and specificity of >/=96%. Men and women with at least one cardiovascular risk factor (total cholesterol >/=6.5 …