Ezzatvar Y, Izquierdo M, Ramírez-Vélez R, et al. - In this meta-analysis assessing the accuracy of different waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) cutoff ranges as risk indicators for cardiometabolic health, the optimal cutoff values of WHtR for application in children and adolescents from different regions were unveiled. Although the WHtR cutoff of 0.50 is widely accepted, findings suggest that a single cutoff value of WHtR could be inappropriate.

• A total of 41 cross-sectional studies, including 138,561 apparently healthy young people (aged 3–18 years) (50% girls), were analyzed.

• Experts identified higher area under summary receiver operating characteristic (AUSROC) values in cutoffs between 0.46 and 0.50 (AUSROC = 0.83) and ≥0.51 (AUSROC = 0.87) (p < 0.001 vs cutoffs 0.41 to 0.45), with similar findings in both genders.

• Applying a WHtR cutoff of ≥0.46, the AUSROC value rose in the East and Southeast Asian regions (AUSROC = 0.90).

• For the Latin American region, the optimal cutoff was ≥0.54 (AUSROC = 0.96).