One way to see if you may be at risk for being diagnosed with diabetes may be to use a tape measure. It turns out that a man’s waist size seems to be more directly related to diabetes risk than body-mass index (BMI), which is based on a formula of height and weight.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore reviewed data from 27,270 men tracked over 13 years and put them into five groups according to their waist size; 884 of the men had diabetes.
Men with larger waist sizes - 40 inches and above - were at least twice as likely to have type 2 diabetes, compared to those in the group with the smallest waists - 29-34 inches. Type 2 diabetes is strongly associated with obesity.
When the men were divided into groups based on their BMI, the level of risk wasn’t as severe.
Doctors usually say that if a man has a 40-inch waist, he needs to be more concerned about diabetes. The study researchers say the findings show that 40 inches is too much and that doctors should tell patients to be concerned if their waists are even smaller.
But, they didn’t say exactly what size ought to cause concern. Other studies have suggested the “magic” waist size to be about 371⁄2 inches.
The results of the study seem to support scientists who believe that fat cells in the mid-section (around the waist) may affect the liver differently than other fat cells. Or, fat cells in that area of the body somehow signal the body and affect insulin production.
