You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you understand regular health checks are vital. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. They may additionally check your weight. Looking concerned, they recommend some lifestyle changes.
GPs and health professionals commonly measure waist circumference as a significant sign for health. This is a greater indicator than body mass index (BMI) of the quantity of intra-abdominal fat. This is the really dangerous fat around and throughout the organs that may drive heart disease and metabolic disorders equivalent to type 2 diabetes.
Men are at greatly increased risk of health issues if their waist circumference is greater than 102 centimetres. Women are considered to be at greater risk with a waist circumference of 88 centimetres or more. More than two-thirds of Australian adults have waist measurements that put them at an increased risk of disease. An even higher indicator is waist circumference divided by height or waist-to-height ratio.
But we all know people (especially women) will be predisposed to gain weight around their middle during midlifewhich could be very hard to regulate. Are they doomed to sick health? It seems that, although such measurements are vital, they should not the entire story relating to your risk of disease and death.
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How much is simply too much?
Having a waist circumference to height ratio larger than 0.5 is related to greater risk of chronic disease in addition to premature death and this is applicable in adults of any age. A healthy waist-to-height ratio is between 0.4 to 0.49. A ratio of 0.6 or more places an individual at the best risk of disease.
Some experts recommend waist circumference be routinely measured in patients during health appointments. This can kick off a discussion about their risk of chronic diseases and the way they may address this.
Excessive body fat and the associated health problems manifest more strongly during midlife. A spread of social, personal and physiological aspects come together to make it harder to regulate waist circumference as we age. Metabolism tends to decelerate mainly because of decreasing muscle mass because people do less vigorous physical activity, specifically resistance exercise.
For women, hormone levels begin changing in mid-life and this also stimulates increased fat levels particularly across the abdomen. At the identical time, this life phase (often involving job responsibilities, parenting and caring for ageing parents) is when elevated stress can result in increased cortisol which causes fat gain within the abdominal region.
Midlife can even bring poorer sleep patterns. These contribute to fat gain with disruption to the hormones that control appetite.
Finally, your loved ones history and genetics can make you predisposed to gaining more abdominal fat.
Why the waist?
This intra-abdominal or visceral fat is rather more metabolically lively (it has a greater impact on body organs and systems) than the fat under the skin (subcutaneous fat).
Visceral fat surrounds and infiltrates major organs equivalent to the liver, pancreas and intestines, releasing quite a lot of chemicals (hormones, inflammatory signals, and fatty acids). These affect inflammation, lipid metabolism, levels of cholesterol and insulin resistance, contributing to the event of chronic illnesses.
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The issue is especially evident during menopause. In addition to the direct effects of hormone changes, declining levels of oestrogen change brain function, mood and motivation. These psychological alterations may end up in reduced physical activity and increased eating – often of comfort foods high in sugar and fat.
But these outcomes should not inevitable. Diet, exercise and managing mental health can limit visceral fat gains in mid-life. And importantly, the waist circumference (and ratio to height) is only one measure of human health. There are so many other features of body composition, exercise and weight loss plan. These can have much larger influence on an individual’s health.
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Muscle matters
The quantity and quality of skeletal muscle (attached to bones to provide movement) an individual has makes a big difference to their heart, lung, metabolic, immune, neurological and mental health in addition to their physical function.
On current evidence, it’s equally or more vital for health and longevity to have higher muscle mass and higher cardiorespiratory (aerobic) fitness than waist circumference throughout the healthy range.
So, if an individual does have an excessive waist circumference, but also they are sedentary and have less muscle mass and aerobic fitness, then the suggestion can be to give attention to an appropriate exercise program. The fitness deficits needs to be addressed as priority fairly than worry about fat loss.
Conversely, an individual with low visceral fat levels isn’t necessarily fit and healthy and can have quite poor aerobic fitness, muscle mass, and strength. The research evidence is that these vital signs of health – how strong an individual is, the standard of their weight loss plan and the way well their heart, circulation and lungs are working – are more predictive of risk of disease and death than how thin or fat an individual is.
For example, a 2017 Dutch study followed obese and obese people for 15 years and located individuals who were very physically lively had no increased heart disease risk than “normal weight” participants.
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Getting moving is very important advice
Physical activity has many advantages. Exercise can counter plenty of the negative behavioural and physiological changes which are occurring during midlife including for people going through menopause.
And regular exercise reduces the tendency to make use of food and drinks to assist manage what generally is a quite difficult time in life.
Measuring your waist circumference and monitoring your weight stays vital. If the measures exceed the values listed above, then it’s definitely a great idea to make some changes. Exercise is effective for fat loss and specifically decreasing visceral fat with greater effectiveness when combined with dietary restriction of energy intake. Importantly, any fat loss program – whether through drugs, weight loss plan or surgery – can be a muscle loss program unless resistance exercise is an element of this system. Talking about your overall health with a health care provider is an awesome place to begin.
Accredited exercise physiologists and accredited practising dietitians are essentially the most appropriate allied health professionals to evaluate your physical structure, fitness and weight loss plan and work with you to get a plan in place to enhance your health, fitness and reduce your current and future health risks.
