October 15, 2010

Waist Circumference, Not BMI, Is Best Predictor of Future Cardiovascular Risk in Children, Study Finds

ScienceDaily for October 14m 2010 reported on obesity in children.

The researchers, whose results appear in the early online edition of the International Journal of Obesity, found that children with high waist circumference values (in the top 25 percent for their age and sex) were five to six times more likely than children with low waist circumferences (in the bottom 25 percent) to develop metabolic syndrome by early adulthood. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of key cardiovascular risk factors and is associated with an increased risk of subsequent coronary artery disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.