Waist measurement - the new T2 metric replacing BMI

[Burg]

On diagnosis 13 months ago my waist to height ratio was exactly .5. My hba1c was 76 and I found I had been diabetic for at least 2 years as I later learned my hba1c from two years earlier had been 50.My bmi was 28.

Currently my waist to height ratio is .44 and I have lost 7 inches on my waist, 30 kgs overall and bmi is 19. All changes happened within the first 6 months after of diagnosis and have been stable for the 7 months since.

I find I have to work just as hard to maintain to good bg control now as at the beginning. I am still waiting to see improved insulin resistance.

My main point is maybe waist to height may be a good indicator but not the gold standard for all.It would certainly not have have been a red right for me.I had put on about 2 inches over the 3 years previous to diagnosis but was still at or below the .5 ratio.

We're all different.

 

[Fleegle]

Just to add, waist/height measurment tells you nothing about visceral fat. So, to me it is about as good as BMI in that it is a rough guide. So too is the waist/hips ratio, these are all great for motivation if you are overweight but mean little for measuring the fat that often is overlooked by some people and is, imo, more dangerous.
Sorry for the serious side but it is sometimes important to be aware of these things.

Just my opinion obviously - but I think it is a little better than BMI.
Both are good for trends - like BG, regardless of your current state it is a good way of seeing progress which is important. Then at an absolute, BMI can be impacted so badly by muscle mass - of heavy bones - it becomes tricky to compare thus put people into categories, where the waist size is less impacted. Thinner people and also very toned people tend to have a lower waist size. And tummy fat or apple shaped is known to be an indicator of visceral fat. Not perfect but I am 100% focused on removing as much of my waist size as I can and I am already at a good waist and good visceral fat but I know there is more to go after.

Of course the ultimate is an MIR scan and knowing exactly how much fat is there and where it is but given these things are not easy to have done regularly waist measurement is a good indicator I think.

 

[Guzzler]

Just my opinion obviously - but I think it is a little better than BMI.
Both are good for trends - like BG, regardless of your current state it is a good way of seeing progress which is important. Then at an absolute, BMI can be impacted so badly by muscle mass - of heavy bones - it becomes tricky to compare thus put people into categories, where the waist size is less impacted. Thinner people and also very toned people tend to have a lower waist size. And tummy fat or apple shaped is known to be an indicator of visceral fat. Not perfect but I am 100% focused on removing as much of my waist size as I can and I am already at a good waist and good visceral fat but I know there is more to go after.

Of course the ultimate is an MIR scan and knowing exactly how much fat is there and where it is but given these things are not easy to have done regularly waist measurement is a good indicator I think.

Agreed. MRI, CT and the zooped up scanner they have in Newcastle are the Gold Standard. The alternative guides give rough ideas and I wouldn't want to disuade anyone from using them, after all, who doesn't like to lose inches around the waist?

 

[Resurgam]

I had an equator after all the carbs I'd been eating - I have lost about 12 inches off my middle, and can bend over, to get to the lower shelves of the book cases and the fridge without going lightheaded.

 

[Grateful]

Nice simple metric, wish I had known about it years ago.

At diagnosis: 6'4" (76") and 40" waist: danger zone (waist X 2 = more than height).

Now: 34" waist, way below the danger zone (too late of course, I already have T2D!).

 

[jwongcsp]

I heard Megan Ramos (assistant to Jason Fung) in an interview say that women have an easier time losing inches. But men have an easier time losing weight. Therefore women have a more difficult time losing weight and men have a more difficult time losing inches.....I find this to be true for me. I'm male, lost 10 lbs eating low carb and intermittent fasting but my waist size has not changed a bit.

 

[ringi]

Remember that "waist size" of cloths is not the same as a correct waist measurement due to where clothes sit on our body.

 

[fletchweb]

The first measure I actually do well at - 5 ft, 11 in with a 32 in waist - I'm 3 inches under. Hurray, think I'll take the afternoon off

 

[AloeSvea]

I use the waist/height ratio to track my (supposed/apparent) visceral fat, absolutely. It works a treat. (So does looking in the mirror alas.) My HBA1c follows in tandem. BMI does not work for me, as I have a muscular build, and have always weighed more than it looked because of that. In terms of my T2D - the waist/height ratio is pretty spot on as an alert, and an indicator of my health status.

This is my favourite online calculator - love that graphic on the dial!:

https://www.health-calc.com/body-composition/waist-to-height-ratio

I know you are going to be deeply shocked - but my waist has a very strong tendency to lay on the fat! Yep. Your classic T2D body type.

I don't use inches though! Or feet and inches for my height. We went metric in 1969 . And I have two measuring tapes - nothing fancy about it, one for the bathroom. I measure myself often, especially if trying out a new health regime.

It never worked for me to do a hip/waist ratio - another possible way you can cheaply and easily track visceral fat. I don't have much of a waist/hip difference, and the ratio of that just never gets in the healthy range, regardless of my fattiness or slimness. So I gave that up in my first 6 months post diagnosis.

These are the references posted on the health-cac.com website along with the calculator:

References:

Indices of abdominal obesity are better discriminators of cardiovascular risk factors than BMI: a meta-analysis.
J Clin Epidemiol. 2008 Jul;61(7):646-53. Epub 2008 Mar 21.
Lee CM, Huxley RR, Wildman RP, Woodward M.

A systematic review of waist-to-height ratio as a screening tool for the prediction of cardiovascular disease and diabetes: 0·5 could be a suitable global boundary value.
Browning LM, Hsieh SD, Ashwell M.
Nutr Res Rev. 2010 Dec;23(2):247-69. Epub 2010 Sep 7.

 

[ixi1429]

Another Thing to worry about measuring, I am not happy with all the figures I have to keep looking up now I have diabetes - what with HBAic, BG, Carb counting, BMI and now this!

I stand 5'10" and I think I am 33" waist - I wear 34" Jeans and these days need a belt to keep them up as I ahve lost 6 kilos since being diagnosed 6 months ago.

Just checked my ratio is 47% (if I use a 33" waist) or 48.5% (if I use the 34" waist measurement which means I am healthy.
I have then used the BMI calculator on the NHS website and I am 25.9 - Overweight, although I knew that already.
The BMI calculator is recomending a max weight of 80kg for me, which is in line with what I want to lose (Another 5-6kgs)

 

[Bluetit1802]

I stand 5'10" and I think I am 33" waist - I wear 34" Jeans and these days need a belt to keep them up as I ahve lost 6 kilos since being diagnosed 6 months ago.

Just a piece of advice. We cannot use our trouser/skirt waist measurements for this. We have to measure with a tape measure on our actual waist.

http://www.dummies.com/health/exerc...r-waist-circumference-and-waist-to-hip-ratio/

 

[ixi1429]

Thanks.

I figured that would be the case which is why I specifically mentioned my Jean wasit size. Unfortunately I don't have a tape meansure at work so I will jsut have to wait until I get home.

 

[Kentoldlady1]

I am another one wondering about lose skin. Having had 3 children and now losing a great deal of weight I am bothered by quite a bit of lose skin. I dont really mind, I look ok covered up! But if I had a total body lift(looked that up and there really is such a thing) I would lose about 6 inches from my waist!! Life is never fair.

 

[Sarah69]

Does everyone have their waist measured at reviews? I've never ever had mine done!