Big waist circumference a health risk

Health risk due to large waist circumference?

Study: Large waist circumference also at normal weight a health risk.

(11/08/2010) US researchers have studied the health-specific data of more than 100,000 of their compatriots in one study and found that people with large waist circumference die earlier, even when their body mass index (BMI) was in the normal range.

The in the current issue of the journal „Archives of Internal Medicine“ The study presented by the American Cancer Society in Atlanta has, in addition to the general medical data of approximately 105,000 US citizens, also examined the causes of death of 14,647 people over a period of nine years. One of the findings was that a waist circumference of more than 102 centimeters in men and 88 centimeters in women poses a significant health risk. From a waist circumference of 110 centimeters for women to 120 centimeters for men, the mortality risk doubles as compared to the average, even according to the head of the US research team, Eric J. Jacobs. The health risk is relatively independent of the body mass index of the persons examined, which is calculated from the weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters squared. So z. For example, the health risk of women with high waist circumference but normal BMI results is particularly high.

So far, the BMI was the key indicator of a health risk from overweight, with values ​​between 18.5 and 25 were considered normal. This could change in the future after publication of the study, so the hope of the US researchers, because rather the waist circumference than the BMI provides a valid statement about the health risks of being overweight. Similar results came from German researchers at the Medical Clinic of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, who therefore want to establish the ratio of waist circumference to height as a new indicator.

Why there is a direct relationship between abdominal circumference and health risk has not yet been finally clarified, according to Eric J. Jacobs. However, the US researchers are trying to explain this on the basis of the type of fat that settles in the abdominal tissue. Unlike in the legs, hips, and buttocks, which store primarily subcutaneous fat, significantly more damaging visceral fat is deposited in the abdomen. This can negatively affect metabolism, blood pressure, blood lipid levels, and promote insulin resistance, potentially causing type 2 diabetes. In addition, visceral fat is suspected to release harmful fatty acids and various messenger substances in the body that promote inflammation. As these processes also run in the vessels, the researchers also suspect that visceral fat increases the risk of atherosclerosis. (Fp)

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