Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Size: Risk Factors of Type 2 Diabetes

Measuring body mass index (BMI) has long been a key diagnostic tool in assessing someone’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

And calculating your BMI is relatively fast and easy–requiring only knowing your weight and height and consulting a chart. But if you want even more convenience, you can use a BMI calculator. It’s a quick and handy way of making a quick diagnosis of how overweight you are and how much at risk you are for developing type 2 diabetes.

A BMI chart will quickly tell you how overweight (or underweight) you are. If your BMI rate is between 18.5 and 27.9, your weight is considered normal, but if it’s between 25 and 29.9, you would be in the overweight range. A BMI of 30 or greater would classify you as obese.

But your BMI does not tell the whole story. It can give you a false sense of security as it isn’t an exact measurement of how much body fat you are carrying. A lower BMI number doesn’t necessarily mean you are healthy or not at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.. Older people who have lost a lot of their muscle mass may have more body fat than their BMI indicates.

And on the other side of the spectrum, those who spend a lot of time in the gym pumping iron and have built up a lot of extra muscle mass may be much leaner than their BMI indicates.

To compensate for this, another measurement is needed to more accurately measure one’s risk for type 2 diabetes, one that takes into account where exactly your weight and fat is centered. Fortunately, all you need is a tape measure and a few seconds to wrap it around your waist to get this measurement. Along with figuring out your BMI, getting your waist size can help you more accurately assess your risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Recent studies seem to indicate that your waist circumference has a strong correlation to your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Whereas calculating your BMI is a good first step in figuring out your risk for type 2 diabetes, it does not take into account how your weight is distributed or where most of your fat is located. Measuring your waist will provide that missing information.

A larger waistline indicates more abdominal fat, which, according to many studies, increases the likelihood of developing the disease. This correlation between larger waistlines and type 2 diabetes seemed to hold true across most weight categories; overweight, obese, and normal-weight individuals.

When you consider these two indicators together, BMI and waist circumference, you are getting a more comprehensive and accurate picture of what your risk factor is for developing the disease. Increases in both waist size and weight are strong indicators of an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

One study, funded by the EU, looked at the progression of the disease over a fifteen year period. The study found that 7% of men and 4.4 percent of women who were categorized as overweight according the BMI scale (between 25 and 29.9kg) and had large waistlines, eventually developed type 2 diabetes within 10 years.

While losing weight may be the most obvious first step in the battle against type 2 diabetes, some studies, however, are finding that an increase in waist circumference among overweight individuals may be a stronger risk marker for a progression to the disease.

Overweight individuals with large waistline have the same risk of developing the disease as those considered obese. A large waistline is considered one that is 35 inches or more in women and 40 inches or more in men.

So keeping an eye on both your weight and your pants size will provide you valuable feedback in gauging how you are faring in this lifelong battle.