In this original article, the authors attempt to determine whether measuring waist circumference enhances prediction of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in men and women in addition to the commonly evaluated cardiometabolic risk factors such as blood pressure, triglyceride, LDL and HDL cholesterol, and glucose levels. The study’s primary finding is that waist circumference predicts the likelihood of diabetes beyond that explained by commonly evaluated cardiometabolic risk factors and body mass index. Although waist circumference was also associated with CVD, this association did not remain significant after controlling for cardiovascular risk factors. However, the authors clarify that this finding does not indicate that a high waist circumference is not a risk factor for CVD, but rather that waist circumference predicts CVD via its influence on cardiometabolic risk factors. These findings underline the importance of waist circumference as a first step in identifying high-risk, abdominally obese patients. The authors encourage practitioners to look beyond body weight as the first anthropometric measure of overweight/obesity and to routinely measure waist circumference.
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