Distribution is what matters: How body fat influences the risk of diabetes
Key points
- Waist circumference gives a better prediction of diabetes risk than does BMI.
- Current guidelines recommend that the degree of risk of diabetes from overweight should be based on the determination of the body mass index (BMI).
- Perhaps this strategy should be reconsidered, as the predictive power of waist circumference for diabetes is particularly high for normal and underweight people (BMI < 25).
- The development of diabetes is particularly influenced by visceral fat tissue, which is metabolically more active than non-visceral fat.
Waist circumference gives a better prediction of diabetes risk than does BMI. This is the conclusion drawn by Silke Feller and her colleagues from the German Institute for Nutritional Research in Potsdam-Rehbrücke, in the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[26]: 470-6).
Current guidelines recommend that the degree of risk of diabetes from overweight should be based on the determination of the body mass index (BMI). It is only recommended to measure the waist circumference when the BMI is greater than 25 points.
Perhaps this strategy should be reconsidered, as the predictive power of waist circumference for diabetes is particularly high for normal and underweight people (BMI < 25). Persons with a BMI of less than 25 points, but with a large waist circumference, have just as high a risk of developing diabetes, as pre-obese (25 < BMI < 30) women and men with low waist circumference.
The development of diabetes is particularly influenced by visceral fat tissue, which is metabolically more active than non-visceral fat. Visceral fat can be more accurately assessed from the waist circumference with people of lower weight than with overweight people, as waist circumference in overweight people contains a high proportion of subcutaneous fat.
###
Contact: Dr. Pischon
[email protected]
Deutsches Aerzteblatt International
Written and revised by
Gerald Hurowitz, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
Explore health topics
More in this topic
Diabetes & Hormones →
NewsGenetic risk for type 1 diabetes driven by faulty cell recycling
Researchers, tackling a modern challenge of diabetes research, have identified a gene believed to disrupt the ability of beta cells to produce insulin resulting in type 1 diabetes. The loss of beta cell function may be…
21 June 2014
NewsInternational team unearths genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes in Latin American populations
In the largest study of its kind published to date, an international team of researchers in Mexico and the United States has discovered a strong genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes that primarily affects Latin…
11 June 2014
NewsObese, older, Caucasian women on dialysis most at risk for rare, deadly condition
Obese, Caucasian females over age 50 with diabetes and on dialysis because their kidneys have failed are among those at highest risk for the rare and deadly condition calciphylaxis, according to an analysis of the…
