The Circumference of the Waist Equals...Health Risk Factors

A study found that a connection exists between the abdominal obesity, otherwise known as the waist circumference, and the risk of a person to suffer heart disease and diabetes. That is what researchers of a global study called International Day for Evaluation of Abdominal Obesity (IDEA) said on October 23, 2007. If a person's measurement of the waist increases, so does their risk of having cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

The study had recorded each of the individuals' age, gender, presence of heart disease or diabetes as well as their waist circumference. This was done by placing a tape measure between the lower ribs and iliac crest of the hips of the individual, which measured the weight, height and their calculated BMI.

Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference are good indicators of CVD and diabetes, but BMI only measures obesity; it does not include the variation of body fat distribution in each individual. Waist circumference indicates the fat hidden within the abdomen and has a stronger relationship in determining the risk of CVD and diabetes. The IDEA study has proven that it is important to measure a person's waist as well as his/her “BMI, blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipid levels, in order to identify patients who are at increased cardiovascular and diabetes risk,” said Beverly Balkau, Ph. D., lead author of this study. “The WC [waist circumference] is so easy to measure in the clinic,” because it includes visceral fat –“an important determinant of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.”

U.S. Schools Get Rid of Junk Food

It was reported on Monday that U.S. school cafeterias and fundraisers are including less and less amount of fatty foods, also known as “junk food.” Instead of offering French fries in the cafeteria or cookies and other high-fat goods in the vending machines, schools are now offering healthier choices to the students. These choices include “salads, low-fat or non-fat yogurt, and low-fat salty snacks like pretzels and baked chips.”

Media reports show there is a significant difference from the amount of French fries offered in school cafeterias from the year 2000 to 2006. In 2000, about 40 percent of US schools used to serve French fries to students; in 2006, about 19 percent of the schools did. As for the fundraisers that were done in schools, 54 percent sold fatty goods in 2006 in comparison to 67 percent in 2000.

Public-health officials still wanted to approach this very cautiously, though. They were still not satisfied by the amount of physical education that schools lack into the students’ daily activities. They were aware 90 percent of schools already provide such an education; however, they don’t all offer it to every student age group as a daily activity. It is a must that students participate in daily activities because “Kids that learn this at an early age will practice this into adulthood,” said Jan Harp Domene, president of the national PTA. If they do not do so, then generations to come will be known as “couch potatoes!”

Weight-Loss Plans Not Heart-Healthy?

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School compared eight of the most popular weight-loss programs to rank which program provided the more healthiest plan to follow to prevent heart disease. The eight popular dietary plans were: the Ornish Plan, the Zone Diet, Atkins, two Weight Watchers plans, two of South Beach Diet Phases, the New Glucose Revolution and the 2005 MyPyramid plan. Out of these eight plans, the most heart-healthy proved to be the Ornish diet plan and the lowest heart-healthy proved to be the Atkins 45-g carbohydrate plan.

The ranking was based on the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), where the amount of fruits, vegetables, fats, fiber, nuts, soy and white meats that are consumed determine the success a diet has to be a heart-healthy one. The highest score, which determines such healthiness, is that of 70. While none of the dietary plans received a perfect score, study author and clinical psychologist Sherry Pagoto said all eight programs have the ability to be heart-healthy and have proven to result in weight-loss. The Ornish plan only came in first due to its emphasis as a very low-fat, low-calorie, mainly vegetarian plan for people who have survived a heart attack. The ideal weight-loss plan for a person should be based on something they can follow and that consists of the same type of foods they already eat so as not to cause a drastic change.