Waist circumference

The abdominal circumference or waist circumference ( English waist circumference ) is the in the middle between the lower ribs measured and the iliac crest girth. Measuring the circumference of the abdomen is an indirect method of determining the amount of fat in the abdominal cavity , the so-called visceral fat .

Measurement of the abdominal or waist circumference

An increased waist circumference, in women over 80 cm, in men over 94 cm, is an important risk factor for the occurrence of diseases such as coronary heart disease , stroke and type 2 diabetes mellitus . At over 88 cm in women and 102 cm in men there is a significantly increased risk.

Although the waist circumference is only related to gender and not to age, height or other individually different parameters , it allows an indicative assessment of the statistical increase in risk from overweight and severe overweight ( obesity ), which is based on the body mass index and the ratio correlated well from abdomen to hip . The Body Shape Index (BSI or ABSI), which has only existed since July 2012, is intended to predict health risks better than the BMI by including the particularly harmful belly fat in the calculation. The ratio between waist size and body size expresses the waist-to-height ratio .

Measurement method

When measuring the waist circumference you should consider:

before breakfast, sober
Standing and bare-chested, preferably in front of the mirror
exhaled easily
at the middle level between the upper end of the iliac bone or the iliac blade ( iliac crest , iliac crest ) and the lowest rib.

literature

Tsigosa Constantine, V Hainer, A Basdevant, N Finer, M Fried, E Mathus-Viegen, D Micic, M Maislos: Management of Obesity in Adults: European Clinical Practice Guidelines . In: The European Journal of Obesity . 1, No. 2, April 2008, pp. 106-16. doi : 10.1159 / 000126822 . PMID 20054170 .

Web links

Wiktionary: waist circumference - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Mike EJ Lean et al .: Waist circumference as a measure for indicating need for weight management . In: British Medical Journal . Vol. 311, July 15, 1995, pp. 158-161 , doi : 10.1136 / bmj.311.6998.158 , PMID 7613427 .
Jump up ↑ Dexter Canoy, S. Matthijs Boekholdt, Nicholas Wareham, Robert Luben, Ailsa Welch: Body Fat Distribution and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Men and Women in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk Cohort: A Population-Based Prospective Study . In: Circulation . tape 116 , no. 25 , December 18, 2007, ISSN 0009-7322 , p. 2933-2943 , doi : 10.1161 / CIRCULATIONAHA.106.673756 , PMID 18071080 ( ahajournals.org [accessed January 23, 2018]).

[:0-1] Mike EJ Lean et al .: Waist circumference as a measure for indicating need for weight management . In: British Medical Journal . Vol. 311, July 15, 1995, pp. 158-161 , doi : 10.1136 / bmj.311.6998.158 , PMID 7613427 .

[2] Jump up ↑ Dexter Canoy, S. Matthijs Boekholdt, Nicholas Wareham, Robert Luben, Ailsa Welch: Body Fat Distribution and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Men and Women in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk Cohort: A Population-Based Prospective Study . In: Circulation . tape 116 , no. 25 , December 18, 2007, ISSN 0009-7322 , p. 2933-2943 , doi : 10.1161 / CIRCULATIONAHA.106.673756 , PMID 18071080 ( ahajournals.org [accessed January 23, 2018]).