Measuring Type 2 Diabetes Risk: Waist Measurement Is More Important Than Body Mass Index!

For more than 20 years, doctors and other diabetes experts have measured the risk of developing type 2 diabetes based on body mass index, also known as BMI. However, a better measure of type 2 diabetes risk turns out to be waist circumference; how much fat is on the belly and around the diaphragm.

BMI is a relatively complicated measurement that relates height and weight. Besides being something most of us don’t have an intuitive feel for, it doesn’t take into account the fact that some people weigh more because they have more muscle. A person with well-developed muscles and very little body fat may have a relatively high BMI.

This reality was the reason that researchers began testing the idea that waist measurements might be a better indicator of diabetes risk.

But unfortunately, there’s nothing in the research that allows people with a high BMI to get away with it.

German researchers have found that people who are thin enough to have a BMI between 20 and 25, but have a dropped waist, have the same risk of type 2 diabetes as people with a BMI between 25 and 30. have both however, a low BMI and a slim waist are still considered low risk for the disease.

Visceral fat: The reason that waist measurement or waist circumference predicts problems in blood sugar control may be that visceral fat, the fat that accumulates around the abdominal organs, obstructs critical circulation, whereas that wavy subcutaneous fat and “thundering thighs” at least do not interfere with circulation. to vital organs. The fat associated with type 2 diabetes is also the fat most subject to inflammation and the most responsive to “bad” fats and trans fats in your diet.

Your waist measurement may be an unscientific sign that you’re becoming insulin resistant, and you may be on your way to one of the most overlooked indicators of type 2 diabetes that’s just as important as a blood test. Visceral fat is not just the roll of fat that surrounds the waist, or even subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat is considered an endocrine organ unto itself, and is a primary link to type 2 diabetes and an agent of weight gain.

Visceral fat:

• is made up of a specific type of body fat…adipose tissue that normally functions as a storage tank for fuel
• when you exercise you lose weight because you use up stored fuel taken from adipose fat
• few people with type 2 diabetes do not have visceral fat

Be careful about your expanding waist measurement: Your waist measurement will reveal your risk of visceral or abdominal fat. A waist measurement of more than 40 inches (102 cm) for a man and more than 34 inches (87 cm) for a woman puts you in the high-risk category. This extra fat, in addition to being an indicator of insulin resistance, puts more stress on the heart. It is very important to lose this belly fat.