Two factors may increase your risk for type 2 diabetes: your body mass index (BMI) and your waist circumference. In a news release from the Public Library of Science, however, Claudia Langenberg and her colleagues at the Institute of Metabolic Science at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England, suggest that a larger waist circumference is also a strong risk indicator and that the risk is higher for women than men. Their research was also published in the journal PLoS Medicine.
While no direct cause-and-effect relationship has been found, the study is nevertheless an important wakeup call for people who are overweight. "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," say the authors.
Unless you want to live with the risk of getting type 2 diabetes, you might want to work on trimming your waistline. You can start by becoming more physically active, eating less fatty foods, and, of course, seeing your doctor and nutritionist for proper consultations.
(Photo by Philippa Willitts via Flickr Creative Commons)
