Determining who is at risk for diseases as serious as type 2 diabetes may be as simple as measuring a patient's waist, researchers report. The current recommendations, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, are based on a review of studies investigating the link between body measurements and disease. The reviewers found that people with similar waist circumferences had comparable rates of type 2 diabetes regardless of age and that in women, the rate of heart disease rose as both BMI and waist circumference increased. The authors, Dr. Jaap C. Seidell from the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, and colleagues, recommend that primary care doctors use BMI and waist circumference as tools to discuss prevention with their patients. However, cutoff points may vary among populations and ethnic groups, the researchers note.
Waist circumference can gauge a person's overall pattern of weight gain.
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