BMI

You know, science can be tricky. Even with the best intentions and complete honesty, facts emerge which make it look like someone has been fudging all along. Take obesity. There could be said to be a “science of obesity” today. We know a lot about it; including the metabolic syndrome, the dangers of belly fat, […]

You know, science can be tricky. Even with the best intentions and complete honesty, facts emerge which make it look like someone has been fudging all along. Take obesity. There could be said to be a “science of obesity” today. We know a lot about it; including the metabolic syndrome, the dangers of belly fat, […] The post We Are Stardust, We Are Golden, We Can Beat Obesity appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.

Every now and again I report on what seems like a total, mindless waste of money. Like this study. 13 years and 15,000 people interviewed and tracked, at  Gawd knows what cost. And the results? A pot belly makes you more likely to have a heart attack and die a sudden death! What a breakthrough […]

Every now and again I report on what seems like a total, mindless waste of money. Like this study. 13 years and 15,000 people interviewed and tracked, at  Gawd knows what cost. And the results? A pot belly makes you more likely to have a heart attack and die a sudden death! What a breakthrough […] The post More Stupid Science Wastes Money appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.

Chocolate, we know, is good for us. But even the fatty, sticky, sugary sort? Yes, apparently! According to Beatrice A. Golomb, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and her colleagues, who detailed their findings in a research letter published in the March 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. A recent study showed that frequent chocolate consumption was associated with lower body mass index (BMI), even when adjusting for calorie intake, saturated fat intake, and mood.

Chocolate, we know, is good for us. But even the fatty, sticky, sugary sort? Yes, apparently! According to Beatrice A. Golomb, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and her colleagues, who detailed their findings in a research letter published in the March 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. A recent study showed that frequent chocolate consumption was associated with lower body mass index (BMI), even when adjusting for calorie intake, saturated fat intake, and mood.

I want you to take a tape measure and measure your waist. Don’t cheat or breathe in! Let it hang out. Then measure the largest circumference of your hips and note down the two figures. Your waist should be LESS than your hips. Preferably a couple of inches less. The reason is that yet another study has suggested that waist-to-hip ratio is much more sensitive than body mass index (BMI) at predicting risk of subsequent coronary disease. Writing in an early online edition of Circulation, Dr Dexter Canoy (University of Cambridge, UK) and colleagues report that increased abdominal obesity — measured in terms of waist-to-hip ratio, was more “consistently and strongly” predictive of coronary heart disease (CHD) than BMI among men and women participating in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk (EPIC-NORFOLK) study. “In our study, in men who were obese and had lower waist-to-hip ratios, their rates of CHD tended to be slightly lower than if they had high waist-to-hip ratios.” Coney said. “But in women, at all levels of BMI, waist-to-hip ratios were strongly predictive of heart disease.” [my italics, KS-M] The study showed that even if we take into account habits like smoking, alcohol intake, or sedentary lifestyle, and we take into account what we already know are important predictors of CHD such as hypertension and dyslipidemia, you will still have an excess risk of a heart attack, if you have a higher than 1.0 waist-to-hip ratio. Waist circumference alone was also a fair predictor of CHD events, but not nearly as accurate as taking the ratio of waist and hips together. Other recent studies have also shown that this is the best predictive measure we have.

I want you to take a tape measure and measure your waist. Don’t cheat or breathe in! Let it hang out. Then measure the largest circumference of your hips and note down the two figures. Your waist should be LESS than your hips. Preferably a couple of inches less. The reason is that yet another study has suggested that waist-to-hip ratio is much more sensitive than body mass index (BMI) at predicting risk of subsequent coronary disease. Writing in an early online edition of Circulation, Dr Dexter Canoy (University of Cambridge, UK) and colleagues report that increased abdominal obesity — measured in terms of waist-to-hip ratio, was more “consistently and strongly” predictive of coronary heart disease (CHD) than BMI among men and women participating in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk (EPIC-NORFOLK) study. “In our study, in men who were obese and had lower waist-to-hip ratios, their rates of CHD tended to be slightly lower than if they had high waist-to-hip ratios.” Coney said. “But in women, at all levels of BMI, waist-to-hip ratios were strongly predictive of heart disease.” [my italics, KS-M] The study showed that even if we take into account habits like smoking, alcohol intake, or sedentary lifestyle, and we take into account what we already know are important predictors of CHD such as hypertension and dyslipidemia, you will still have an excess risk of a heart attack, if you have a higher than 1.0 waist-to-hip ratio. Waist circumference alone was also a fair predictor of CHD events, but not nearly as accurate as taking the ratio of waist and hips together. Other recent studies have also shown that this is the best predictive measure we have.