Waist Size a Prevailing Factor in Rising Diabetes Rates

Previous studies have suggested a range of health risks associated with carrying extra weight around the midsection.  James Banks, from the RAND Corporations (California, USA), and colleagues have examined the differences that may contribute to different rates of diabetes in the American population as compared to Britains.   The team reports that middle-aged and older American men and women have almost twice the rate of diabetes of men and women in England, with the difference not explained by conventional risk factors including age, smoking, social position and body mass index (BMI).  The researchers assessed data on subjects, ages 52 to 85 years, enrolled in the 1999–2006 American National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the 2004 English Longitudinal Study of Aging, tracking the incidence of disease and analyzing anthropometric measures of BMI, height and waist circumference.  The team found that the older American population has much higher rates of diabetes than the English population, with waist circumference accounting for 75% of the country differences for women and 38% among men.   The researchers conclude that: “Higher rates of diabetes in the US old-age population than in England were largely accounted for by raised waist circumference and not BMI differences, especially among women.”