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 Body Fat and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
The number of people with diabetes continues to increase at an alarming rate and is a major concern for the majority of countries. The worldwide prevalence of diabetes was estimated at 151 million persons in 2000. With the current rate of increase, experts estimate that 221 million people will have diabetes by the year 2010 and is expected to increase to 324 million by 2025. In the United States alone, babies born in 2007 are expected to have a 1 in 3 chance of developing diabetes during their lifetime. Diabetes Risk Factors: The primary risk factor for diabetes is obesity (or having excess fat weight); this is closely followed by a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits. Researchers studied 6,000 people using three different ways to assess weight to see the relationship with diabetes risk. The participants were assessed using body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Participants were assessed at baseline for BMI, waist circumference, and WHR and then followed for more than nine years to see who developed type 2 diabetes. Although all 3 weight measures were found to be predictors of diabetes risk, waist circumference was found to be the best predictor of diabetes in men younger than 55 years. Both BMI and waist circumference were found to be strong predictors of diabetes in women younger than 55 years. Overall, the best predictor of developing diabetes was using both waist circumference and BMI; because both BMI and waist circumference were additive, people showed the highest risk when both were high. Therefore, the researchers recommend using both BMI and waist circumference measures to accurately identify people who are at risk of developing diabetes. Why Multiple Measures Are Needed: Women in the low BMI category still had a significantly higher diabetes risk when they had a high waist circumference. Likewise, women in the high BMI category did not have a significantly higher risk of type 2 diabetes when they also had a low waist circumference. However, when both BMI and waist circumference were high, women had the highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Since overall and abdominal obesity play an important role in the development of type 2 diabetes, and waist circumference is easy to measure and interpret, the researchers recommend measuring waist circumference in addition to BMI to assess type 2 diabetes risk in both men and women.
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