BMIBody mass index, Quetelet indexBody mass index is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared, used as a rough screen for whether a person carries too much or too little weight for their frame. South Asians face weight-related risk at a lower BMI than the standard chart assumes.
Waist circumference
The measurement around your middle. For South Asian adults, above about 90cm in men and 80cm in women signals raised risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Where fat sits matters more than how much there is. Fat around the abdomen surrounds the liver and pancreas and drives ; fat on the hips and thighs does not, to anything like the same degree.
Measuring it properly
- Stand up, breathe out normally.
- Put the tape midway between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone — roughly level with the navel.
- Keep it horizontal and snug without compressing the skin.
Related terms
- Metabolic syndromeSyndrome X, Insulin resistance syndromeA cluster of findings — abdominal weight, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol — that together sharply raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
- Insulin resistanceWhen the body's cells stop responding properly to insulin, so the pancreas must make more and more of it to keep blood sugar normal.