Larger waist circumference linked to diabetes

Waist circumference has been linked to a higher risk of diabetes, independently of body mass index.

A study by Claudia Langenberg and colleagues published in PLoS Medicine revealed that people with larger waists are at greater risk of type 2 diabetes, no matter what their body mass index was.

Previously the two were thought to be linked but, following the re-evaluation of data including measurements of weight, height and waist circumference and how they related to an increased risk, this was disproved.

Both body mass index and waist circumference are linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes but the association of waist measurements with the disease was a stronger risk factor in women than in men.

"Our results clearly show the value that measurement of [waist circumference] may have in identifying which people, among the large population of overweight individuals, are at highest risk of diabetes," the authors commented.

Find the nearest Barchester care home