 |
   
If you wish to unsubscribe from any eDocAmerica mailings, please click on the image above.
Register Now
If you have not yet used eDocAmerica to communicate with our physicians, we urge you to give it a try. Email us about this or any other topic or question you have! |
   
|
|
Health Tip: What Waistlines Tell Us About Our
Health
If the knowledge that a bulging waistline could increase
your risk of developing diabetes or heart disease was not compelling enough to encourage
weight reduction, perhaps newly published findings relating waist measurement to
health status will get your attention. A new study has found that women with excess
fat around their waists have a significantly increased risk of premature death than
women with smaller waistlines. Another study has shown that those with bulging waistlines
during middle age are much more likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer disease
later in life.
Although the concept is not universally accepted by the medical community, it is
currently believed that fat accumulating around the middle is considerably more
dangerous than, for example,
fat accumulating in the hip region. Abdominal fat is largely "visceral fat", which
is an indicator of similar fat being deposited around internal organs. Visceral
fat appears to initiate changes in our cells and organs that ultimately results
in conditions such as metabolic syndrome, heart disease and diabetes. This is where
the concept of the "apple" vs. "pear" configuration of body type came about. In
two individuals with similar weight and stature, the one with excessive abdominal
fat (the "apple") is thought to carry additional health risks as compared to the
one with a more pear or hourglass shape.
In the study that looked at women’s waistlines and overall mortality, those women
with a waist size of 35 or more inches (measured at the naval line) were almost
twice as likely to die prematurely as compared to women with waistlines less than
28 inches. Most of these premature deaths were due to heart disease or cancer. The
Alzheimer’s study looked at the health status of participants approximately 30 years
after their initial waist measurements were made. The 40-something year olds who
were both overweight and had excess abdominal fat when the initial measurement were
made were more than 3 times more likely to develop dementia later in life than those
with normal measurements. Even the study participants who were of a healthy weight
but had a large belly on initial evaluation had twice the risk of developing dementia
in their senior years.
In addition to achieving an optimal
body/mass index, women should try to achieve more of a "pear" or hourglass
configuration than an "apple" shape. Men also need to take steps to stop waistline
expansion in order to reduce their risk of developing diseases which severely affect
their quality-of-life or that can result in premature death. The encouraging news
is that the type of fat that collects around the abdominal region is somewhat easier
to lose than in some other locations. Diet and exercise will go a long way toward
getting rid of that "spare tire".
|
|
Have you ever used eDocAmerica?
To register, just Click Here
and follow the simple directions. The entire process should take less than 5 minutes.
You'll be glad you did.
|
|
