Table 1 Baseline characteristics of US women according to waist‐hip ratio in the Nurses' Health Study.
| Waist‐hip ratio category | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <0.70 | 0.70– <0.74 | 0.74– <0.78 | 0.78– <0.82 | 0.82– <0.86 | ⩾0.86 | |
| Participants (n) | 3538 | 8831 | 11101 | 8677 | 5631 | 4534 |
| Mean age (y) | 52.6 | 52.6 | 52.7 | 52.8 | 52.8 | 52.8 |
| Mean body mass index (kg/m2) | 22.9 | 22.6 | 23.6 | 24.9 | 26.0 | 27.7 |
| Current smoker (%) | 16 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 24 |
| Physical activity (METs)* | 16.9 | 17.2 | 15.5 | 13.8 | 12.3 | 11.7 |
| Total energy (kcal/day) | 1735 | 1761 | 1787 | 1800 | 1809 | 1825 |
| Alcohol (g/day) | 5.3 | 6.1 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Dietary fibre (g/day) | 18.8 | 18.4 | 17.9 | 17.6 | 17.2 | 17.0 |
| Carbohydrate (g/day) | 196 | 195 | 193 | 193 | 192 | 190 |
| Saturated fat (g/day) | 20.4 | 20.3 | 20.5 | 20.7 | 20.7 | 20.9 |
| Polyunsaturated fat (g/day) | 11.0 | 11.0 | 10.9 | 10.9 | 10.9 | 10.9 |
| Monounsaturated fat (g/day) | 21.1 | 21.0 | 21.2 | 21.3 | 21.4 | 21.6 |
| Trans fat (g/day) | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Mean parity (No of births) | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| History of oral contraceptive use (%) | 49.9 | 50.2 | 49.4 | 47.1 | 47.0 | 46.8 |
| Current use of HRT (%)† | 19.8 | 18.5 | 17.6 | 15.3 | 14.2 | 11.3 |
*Metabolic equivalent tasks per week, defined as a multiple of metabolic equivalent of sitting at rest.
†HRT, hormone replacement therapy. Only postmenopausal women were included.