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COLLECTIVE
WIZDOM.COM
Real People (Sometimes Real
Names) Share Real Health
and Life Stories
WIZDOM.COM
Real People (Sometimes Real
Names) Share Real Health
and Life Stories
| THE BEST MEDICINE- LAUGH! SECOND DOSE Last night, my friend and I were sitting in the living room and I said to her, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug." She got up, unplugged the TV, and threw out my wine |
DIETS AND FITNESS Sugar-The Disease Connection HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH SALT HOW MUCH SALT IS IN MY FOOD SALT CONTENT OF COMMON FOODS INFLAMMATION INSIDE THE BODY Why Waist Size Matters FAT--IT'S ALIVE Diet and Exercise -Lose 10 lbs MY HEART ATTACK BRAIN HEALTH >CROSSWORD PUZZLES >LEARNING >MEMORY LOSS CURRENT BLOGS CANCER SURVIVORS MONEY AND BUDGET RESOURCES AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION |
Why Waist Size Matters
Related Links
How to Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
Normal Waist Size for a Man
Normal Waist Size for a Woman
Six Pack Abs-Step By Step
Lose 10lbs-Simple Diet and Exercise Plan
Foods That Shrink Your Waist
By Susan Callahan, Associate Editor and Featured Columnist
Remember when the "perfect" measurements of a woman were 38-24-38?
A 24-inch waistline --or something reasonably close-- may have been
discarded as a canard of a sexist past but new studies may make us all have
to take a second look at the usefulness of the measurement.
It turns out that your waistline measurement may tell us more about your
overall health than any other statistic. Why? All fat is not created equal.
And fat around the middle may be the worst fat of all.
Your waist line measurement may be the most important indicator of your
overall health. It may indicate your risk for developing heart disease,
stroke and diabetes.
In contrast to the popular notion of fat as an inert blob, fat is actually an
active substance. Fat leaks a constant stream of hormones into your
bloodstream and some of these hormones are quite harmful.
In 2006, Canadian scientists in Canada studied the waist sizes of 168,000
men and women worldwide.
The results were, well, heart-stopping. The study showed that the risk of
heart disease increased 21 to 40 per cent for every 5½in (14cm) a man
added to his waist line. In women,the risk of heart disease increased
21 to 40 percent for every5¾in (14.9cm) increase intheir waistlines.
The culprit? The usual suspects---high blood sugar, lack of exercise, and
excess dietary fat.
High insulin levels convert excess blood-sugar into belly girth. We start to
take the shape of apples or pumpkins rather than pears. (Read more about
Sugar and the Disease Connection).
Both effects reduce blood flow to all areas of the body especially the heart.
What is the ideal waistline number? As you might expect, recommendations
vary. Under the guidelines of the International Diabetes Federation, a
normal waist measurement for a woman is 32 inches or less, and for a man
is 38 inches or less.
Many doctors are even more stringent, recommending a target of 30 inches
or less for a woman and 35 for a man.
Not quite the old 24-inch waist, but it's a start.
