A simple waist circumference measurement turns out to be nearly as\neffective as other, more complicated methods in detecting unhealthy body\nfat levels. New research from Rutgers Health shows that body mass index\n(BMI) alone often fails to identify many people with obesity, so waist\nsize could serve as a crucial early warning sign.<\/p>\n
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that measuring waist\ncircumference\u2014whether done on its own or combined with BMI\u2014has\neffectiveness equivalent to newer, more complex approaches that rely on\nvarious different body measurements.<\/p>\n
These results indicate that waist circumference checks provide a\npractical way for doctors and patients to identify potentially unhealthy\nbody fat levels and recognise related health problems earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cPay attention to the need to loosen your belt or buy larger\ntrousers,\u201d said Aayush Visaria, a faculty member at Rutgers\nHealth-RWJBarnabas Health Center for Climate, Health, and Healthcare and\nthe study\u2019s lead author.<\/p>\n
According to Visaria, although clothing size is not the same as a\nprecise waist circumference measurement, it can be an early sign of an\nunhealthy amount of body fat. Measuring the waist together with body\nweight can help identify health risks earlier, providing an opportunity\nto reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and even some\ntypes of cancer.<\/p>\n
To investigate the effectiveness of various obesity screening\nmethods, Rutgers Health researchers analysed information from 1,900\nadults in the United States aged between 20 and 59 who participated in\nthe National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They compared\nseveral ways of identifying obesity with a highly accurate method of\ndetermining body fat.<\/p>\n
One of the methods evaluated was an obesity framework recently\nproposed by an independent multidisciplinary expert group. That approach\ncombines BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and\nwaist-to-hip ratio.<\/p>\n
Although the new framework identified a greater number of people with\nexcess body fat, the Rutgers team found that a far simpler method\nproduced similar levels of accuracy. Using BMI or waist circumference\nalone provided a better balance between correctly identifying people\nwith obesity and avoiding false positive diagnoses.<\/p>\n
This simplicity is particularly important in everyday medical\npractice. Hip circumference, which is required for one of the\nmeasurements in the proposed framework, is rarely recorded during\nroutine clinical visits. By contrast, waist circumference is far easier\nto measure and is increasingly being included in clinical\nguidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur findings show that you do not always need multiple complex\nmeasurements to identify obesity-related health risks,\u201d said Visaria.\n\u201cWaist measurement provides much of the information needed and is\nfeasible for both clinicians and patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study results also highlight the significant limitations of BMI.\nWhen BMI is used alone, the method fails to identify a large number of\npeople who actually meet the body fat criteria for obesity. This\nreinforces long-standing concerns about relying solely on BMI, which\ndoes not fully reflect differences in body composition or indicate where\nfat is stored in the body.<\/p>\n
The location of body fat accumulation is very important for health.\nThis is the reason why waist circumference can provide information that\nBMI alone does not capture. The researchers hope that wider use of waist\nmeasurement can make obesity screening more practical while still being\nable to identify individuals facing high health risks.<\/p>\n
The research was also compiled by Soko Setoguchi, Ethan Halm, Douglas\nCorsi, Dylon Patel, Keerthana Kesavarapu, and Jeffrey Carson from\nvarious departments at Rutgers University.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/study-waist-circumference-more-accurate-than-bmi-in-detecting-health-risks-1788198619", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }