Using waist circumference may be one simple way to stave off type 2 diabetes, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Weight loss ought to be the cornerstone of treatment for newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, a recent study concludes. Rita Kalyani, a diabetes expert at Johns Hopkins, says such a strategy might be best employed in preventing the disease to begin with.

Kalyani: Prevention of obesity is a key modifiable risk factor for the development of prediabetes and diabetes. Perhaps something that we don’t monitor as often as we should is central adiposity, which is usually measured by waist circumference. Waist circumference should probably be measured more commonly in order to better assess those people who might be at highest risk. The way that we assess obesity needs to be better defined. The advantage to waist circumference is that there are well defined ethnic specific cutoffs for both men and women from the World Health Organization.  :33

Kalyani says you can ask for your waist circumference to be measured if your doctor doesn’t do so. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.