Anthropometric Indices-A Tool for Safeguard Alert to Offspring of Diabetic and Hypertensive Parents

Background: Family history represents the integration of shared genomic and environment risk factors. This suggests that family history might be a practical and useful way to target interventions and disease prevention efforts of the prone population. Anthropometry provides the single most portable, universally applicable, cost-effective and non-invasive technique for assessing the size, proportions and composition of the human body. Basic anthropometric measurements and their derived indices are used as indicators for the presence of diseases and their assessment in clinical practice. Purpose: Present work has been carried out to determine whether such abnormalities can be detected in healthy young adults with a family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension at an early age that may presage the onset of these chronic diseases. Methodology: The study was conducted among 400 healthy adults (20-30 years of age). The derived indices were determined from the basic anthropometric measurements. Results: The various basic and derived anthropometric indices showed changes in healthy adult offspring from type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertensive parents. Conclusion: All the derived anthropometric indices like BMI, WHR, WHtR reflect significantly increased value in young healthy adults (20-30yrs of age) having positive family history of both the chronic diseases type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension.