LOS ANGELES, Sep 2, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Waist-hip ratios may be the best
indicator of obesity risk in the elderly, U.S. researchers suggest.
The study, published in the Annals of Epidemiology, linked each 0.1 increase in
the waist-hip ratio to a 28 percent relative increase in women's mortality rate
-- the number of deaths per 100 older women per year. For example, for a hip
size of 40 inches, an increase in waist size from 32-36 inches signaled a 28
percent relative death-rate increase.
For men, the researchers found a threshold effect. The rate of dying was 75
percent higher in men with a waist-hip ratio greater than 1.0 -- men whose
waists were larger than their hips.
However, the data taken from the MacArthur Successful Aging Study -- a
longitudinal study of high-functioning men and women between the ages of 70-79
did not support any association between mortality risk to body mass index -- a
measure of weight in relation to height.
"Basically, it isn't BMI that matters in older adults -- it's waist size," study
lead investigator Dr. Preethi Srikanthan of the University of California, Los
Angeles, said in a statement.
"This is one of the first studies to show that relative waist size does matter
in older adults, even if BMI does not matter."
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