Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Hip circumference is a poor proxy for trunk fat and a good proxy for leg fat and lean mass, making waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) a complex metric influenced by both harmful trunk fat and protective leg tissue.
Use waist circumference to monitor abdominal fat, but understand that hip size reflects leg muscle and fat. A high WHR might mean high trunk fat OR low leg mass. DXA scans provide the clearest picture.
StrongQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Whereas the waist circumference is mainly associated with fat mass in the trunk, the hip circumference is strongly associated with both fat mass and lean mass in the legs, particularly in men.
Why this rating
Cross-sectional observational data; associations are clear but causal mechanisms for tissue distribution are not fully elucidated.
Source
Trunk Fat and Leg Fat Have Independent and Opposite Associations With Fasting and Postload Glucose Levels
Marieke B. Snijder et al. · Diabetes Care · 2004
DOI 10.2337/diacare.27.2.372
cross_sectional · n=556Cited 418×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Higher trunk fat mass is independently associated with higher fasting and postload glucose levels, indicating a detrimental effect on glucose metabolism.Good
- Higher leg fat mass is independently associated with lower fasting and postload glucose levels, suggesting a protective effect against disturbed glucose metabolism.Good
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