Several anthropomorphic indices have been devised to help clinicians predict cardiovascular risk, including body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-hip ratio. Because none has clearly been shown to be superior,1 investigators continue to look for better measures, and in the linked study (doi:10.1136/bmj.b3292) Heitmann and Frederiksen propose a new one—thigh circumference.2

In a cohort of 1436 men and 1380 women aged 35-65 years participating in the Danish MONICA (monitoring trends in and determinants of cardiovascular disease ) project, the authors examined the association between thigh circumference and the incidence of cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease at 10 years and total mortality at 12.5 years. They fitted four separate proportional hazard regression models to the data for either sex to examine the association between thigh circumference, measured in centimetres directly below the gluteal fold of the right thigh, and hazard ratio of disease and death. The model adjusted for smoking, education, physical activity, menopause (in women), body fat percentage, height, body mass index, …