Large Waist Size Can Be Dangerous

(August 10, 2010) - There is more evidence that being overweight (Read about "Obesity") is bad for you, and it's pretty dramatic. The bigger your waist, the more likely you are to die. Individuals with a large waist circumference (Read about "Waist-to-Hip Ratio") appear to have a greater risk of dying from any cause over a nine-year period, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Having a large waist circumference has previously been associated with inflammation, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, abnormal cholesterol levels and heart disease (Read about "Diabetes" "Cholesterol" "Coronary Heart Disease"), according to background information in the article. This may be because waist circumference is strongly correlated with fat tissue in the viscera - surrounding the organs in the abdomen - which is thought to be more dangerous than fat tissue under the skin.

Researchers examined the association between waist circumference and risk of death among 48,500 men and 56,343 women age 50 and older (median or midpoint age, 69 years in men and 67 years in women). All had participated in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, for which they completed a mailed questionnaire about demographic, medical and behavioral factors in 1992 or 1993 and provided information about weight and waist circumference in 1997. Deaths and their causes were tracked until Dec. 31, 2006; a total of 9,315 men and 5,332 women died during this timeframe.

After adjusting for body mass index (Read about "BMI") and other risk factors, very large waists (120 centimeters or 47 inches or larger in men, and 110 centimeters or 42 inches or larger in women) were associated with approximately twice the risk of death during the study period. A larger waist was associated with higher risk of death across all categories of BMI, including normal weight, overweight and obese; however, among women, the association was strongest for those at a normal weight.