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Waist circumference greater than 88 centimeters for women and 102 cm for men is not only an aesthetic problem, it also increases the risk of many diseases. For a thinner waist and better health white rice should be replaced with brown rice, and sandwich should be made out of whole wheat bread instead of white bread.
The number of holes in the belt is becoming bigger from year to year? Your waist is far from model size? It seems that such worries oppress a growing number of modern people. Abdominal obesity is an integral part of the so-called metabolic syndrome, the scourge of the modern age which includes disorders involving blood pressure, blood fat and insulin resistance, which increase the risk of heart disease, vascular diseases and diabetes.
Fat tissue in the abdomen is the most dangerous
Maybe it sounds illogical that you can have a normal body weight and have all the risk factors that obese people have – just because the fat is concentrated around the waist. Adipose tissue is significantly “weaker” (easily enters blood circulation and travels throughout the body) and is more problematic for our heart and blood vessels than, for example, the adipose tissue which is located on the buttocks and thighs.
Numerous studies have correlated the wider waist with a variety of inflammatory conditions and diseases such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, elevated blood cholesterol levels and heart disease. It is believed that the fat that surrounds the internal organs is more dangerous to health than subcutaneous fat.
Ignoring this problem which is usually considered only as an aesthetical has been proven even by scientific research. A recently published study found that nearly 9 out of 10 respondents were not aware of the harmful consequences of deposits of fatty tissue located in the abdominal area. The study, which involved over 12,000 Europeans, found that most people are not aware that it is the fatty tissue that adversely affects the function of internal organs and increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
When the waist is too wide?
Although many young women are prone to despair over waist that does not fit the modeling measures, medically speaking, waist circumference in women greater than 80 and 94 in men is considered the” magic” boundary which should not be exceeded. A more liberal approach states the figure of 88 cm for women and 102 cm for men, and scope and value of your waist should not exceed that number.
Also, the ratio of waist and hips is important, as it indicates the risk of certain diseases. Specifically, it has been shown that people who have fatty tissue located in the upper part of the body – apple-shaped people – are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (especially myocardial infarction and stroke) and diabetes. Recent studies have linked a wider waist with an increased incidence of certain cancers (e.g., colon cancer) and dementia in old age.
Also, it is possible to have a normal weight and be at risk of disease or cardiovascular adverse events or premature death due to an overly broad waist. Moreover, a new large-scale study found that women with wide circumference of normal weight have a higher risk of death compared to obese women or women in the category of elevated body mass. For now it is not clear why this phenomenon occurs, and scientists have stressed that additional research is needed to try to explain it.
Waist circumference in children predicts risk of diabetes
Based on the results of many years of study, joint American and Australian scientists have come to the conclusion that calculating the body mass index (BMI) in children is not an ideal method for assessing the risk of developing metabolic syndrome later in life.
Most previous studies have used body mass index in the assessment of obesity in children and predicting the consequent risk of related diseases. However, although very useful, BMI does not distinguish fat from lean tissue. Also, the ratio of weight and height, which shows the BMI, does not tell where the fat is located in the body.
Results of the study showed that children with the largest waist circumference (in the top 25 percent of the waist for their age and gender) are 5-6 times more likely to get sick of the metabolic syndrome compared with those with the narrowest waist. Measurement of waist circumference in children is an acceptable method to effectively assess the risk of developing metabolic syndrome – the condition which represents a combination of factors for cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes.
Whole grains for a narrower waist
Daily consumption of several servings of whole grains, with limited intake of refined ones, leads to less fat in the waist area, concluded U.S. researchers.
For example, people who eat two slices of whole wheat bread and half a cup of oatmeal a day, have 10 percent less visceral fat compared to people who eat two slices of white bread and half a cup of white rice. Visceral fat surrounds the internal organs and is considered problematic because it is believed to cause heart disease and cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
However, this rule does not apply if the consumption of whole grains is increased without reducing the intake of refined grains. This was proven by the authors of the study published in the prestigious American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Therefore, for a thin waist and better health, replace white rice with brown, and a sandwich of whole wheat bread rather than refined white one.