Larger Waists Linked to Higher Risk of Dying, Research Finds
Larger Waists Linked to Higher Risk of Dying
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg News
Larger middles have been linked in previous studies to higher death rates, as well as to diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol, the authors wrote.
Larger middles have been linked in previous studies to higher death rates, as well as to diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol, the authors wrote. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg News
Men and women with more fat at the waistline, regardless of their body mass index, have a higher risk of dying than those with little belly fat, a study from the American Cancer Society found.
Men who had a waist size of 47 inches (120 centimeters) or higher and women with waists of 43 inches or larger had about twice the risk of dying over the 9-year study period than those with the smallest waist size of about 35 inches in men and 30 inches in women, according to research today in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Larger middles have been linked in previous studies to higher death rates, as well as to diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol, the authors wrote. That’s because the type of fat found in the abdomen can cause inflammation in the body and increase levels of insulin and cholesterol in the blood, lead study author Eric Jacobs said. Today’s study shows that, regardless of a person’s weight, an apple-shaped figure can increase the risk of dying.
“Even if your weight is considered ‘normal’ for your height, keeping your waist size in check is important for your health,” said Jacobs, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, in an Aug. 6 e-mail. “Even if you haven’t had a big weight gain, if you notice your waist size increasing, that’s an important sign it’s time to start eating better and exercising more.”
Men with waist sizes of 40 or more inches and woman with waist sizes of 35 or more inches are considered abdominally obese, Jacobs said.
Obesity’s Cost
Obesity costs Americans as much as $150 billion a year from associated illnesses, the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week in a report. Saying “a call to action,” is needed, the agency reported Aug. 3 that the number of states with an adult obesity rate of 30 percent or more had tripled to nine since 2007.
The researchers in the today’s study examined the association between waist circumference and death in 48,500 men and 56,343 women who were part of a research group known as the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. The participants completed mailed questionnaires in 1992 or 1993 and provided information about waist circumference and weight in 1997.
They were tracked until the end of 2006 through the National Death Index, a database maintained by a Hyattsville, Maryland-based research unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The authors reported that 9,315 men and 5,332 women of the study group died from 1997 to 2006.
Among men, waist size increased the chance of dying regardless of how much the individual weighed, while in women the association was strongest in those who were considered normal weight, the authors said.
Each 10-centimeter increase in waist size (about 4 inches) was associated with a 15 percent to 25 percent higher risk of death. Even among people considered normal weight for their height, a growing girth at the waist raised their risk of dying, Jacobs said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Ostrow in New York at nostrow1@bloomberg.net.
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