Health Buzz: Waist Size Predicts Diabetes Risk
US News & World Report
By Angela Haupt
June 7, 2012
Waist Size Signals Increased Risk of Diabetes
Measuring your waist circumference could help gauge your risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Doctors have long used body mass index, a measurement of body fat based on height and weight, to determine patients' diabetes risk, but adding waist circumference makes those predictions more accurate, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal PLoS Medicine. While BMI doesn't make any distinction between different kinds of fat, waist circumference identifies visceral fat in the abdomen, which has the strongest link to diabetes. It's not affected by fat in the arms, thighs, or any other part of the body. The study authors found that, among women, diabetes risk was more closely associated with waist size than with BMI, HealthDay reports. The findings suggest that, if doctors paid more attention to waist size, they could refer high-risk patients to weight-loss and diabetes-prevention programs.
Yup, I found this this was true for me. I had a pear shape and my BMI was out of sight (34.6). Now I'm down to a BMI of 28 and I'm shooting for a BMI of 19 - 24.
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