Kids' Waistline Indicates Pre-diabetes Risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children with bigger waists are more likely to have insulin resistance, a condition that often leads to diabetes, according to new study findings.

Measuring waist size in children "may be a valuable tool for identifying overweight children who are at risk of developing metabolic and cardiovascular complications," study author Dr. Valeria Hirschler of the Durand Hospital of Buenos Aires in Argentina told Reuters Health.

In adults, waist size is a better indication of the risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems than overall body weight, Hirschler and her colleagues note In the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Waist size is also considered to be a component of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of heart disease and diabetes risk factors including excess body weight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar.

To investigate if larger waistlines also spell trouble for children, Hirschler and her team weighed and measured 84 children between the ages of 6 and 13, and also noted blood pressure and other health measurements.

The researchers found that children's waist size was directly related to blood pressure, cholesterol level, blood fats, and the risk of insulin resistance.

After accounting for factors such as height and weight, Hirschler and her team found that children with bigger waistlines were still significantly more likely to show signs of insulin resistance, putting them at risk of diabetes.

"We suggest that pediatricians should consider screening of central obesity using waist circumference as a component of the metabolic syndrome," Hirschler concluded.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, August 2005.