insulin so sugar can get to your cells are damaged, and it impairs how the body breaks down sugars.
Some people may have a "healthy" BMI of less than 25, but may not be fit, because BMI does not account for muscle mass. Some people with a BMI over 25 can be fit and healthy. The truth about a person's risk of chronic disease is more accurately determined by their WHtR than their BMI. Studies show that central obesity or belly fat, is associated with higher mortality rates, even in individuals with normal BMI scores.
What is a healthy waist size for children? The answer depends on their height! Their waist should be no more than half their height. This is for both boys and girls, all ethnic groups and ages. And as luck would have it, it works the same for adults as well!
How to measure the waist: Measure waist and height accurately, because even small errors can cause the ratio to be inaccurate. When measuring waist and height, if possible, bring all family members into the activity. No need to "call anyone out" if their ratio is above .5. The measurement is appropriate for ages two and older. The beauty of starting to look at WHtR with younger children is that as they grow taller, if waist size remains, their ratio goes down.
- Wrap a flexible tape measure around the waist slightly above the navel. Keep the tape measure level with the floor, exhale, and measure.
- The height measurement: Remove shoes, stand straight with three points of contact including back of head, heels and seat touching the wall. Put a box or book (right angle), on person's head and where item touches top of the head, mark the wall.
- Divide the height in inches by the waist in inches. For example, if a person is 48 inches tall and his waist is 27 inches, 27 divided by 48 gives a ratio of .56. Ideally his waist will be 24 inches.
Excessive abdominal fat or a WHtR over .5 is linked with higher risk for type 2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol or triglycerides, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and other health conditions.
SCALING DOWN : HEALTHY WEIGHT STRATEGIES
Here are some great resources for parents interested in looking at healthy weight strategies for their children with special needs.
ABILITY PATH
Finding Balance Obesity and Children with Special Needs An online resource and social community for parents and professionals serving the needs of adults and children with disabilities. abilitypath.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/obesity-report.pdf
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
How to measure your own waist and height media.specialolympics.org/resources/health/disciplines/health-promotion/virtu- al/Waist-Height-Measurement-Guide-Imperial.pdf
BIOED: BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
Make body measurements fun for yourself and your children bioedonline.org/BioEd/cache/file/7E2446DB-EDF2-E213-50FE881FE130862F.pdf
IGAMEMOM
Fun Body Measurements with a piece of string igamemom.com/fun-body-measurement-activities-with-a-piece-of-string
A HEALTHY APPROACH : ADULT WAIST TO HEIGHT RATIO RESOURCES AND READINGS
NIH NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
Waist-to-height ratio is more predictive of years of life lost than body mass index pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25198730
Waist-to-height ratio is a better screening tool than waist circumference and BMI for adult cardiometabolic risk factors: systematic review and meta-analysis pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22106927
A systematic review of waist-to-height ratio as a screening tool for the prediction of cardiovascular disease and diabetes: 0·5 could be a suitable global boundary value pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20819243
CENTER ON TECHNOLOGY AND DISABILITY
A proposal for a primary screening tool: Keep your waist circumference to less than half your height
https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-014-0207-1
ASHWELL ASSOCIATES
The Ashwell Shape Chart ashwell.uk.com/shapechart.htm
NATIONAL DEAF CENTER
Evaluation of the impact of abdominal obesity on glucose and lipid metabolism disorders in adults with Down syndrome sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S089142221400314X