New Delhi, March 23 Waist circumference (WC) is a stronger risk marker than BMI for developing obesity-related cancers in men, but not women, says a new study.
BMI is a measure of body size, but does not provide information on fat distribution, whereas waist circumference is a proxy more closely related to abdominal adiposity.
“This distinction is crucial because visceral fat, which accumulates around the abdominal organs, is more metabolically active and has been implicated in adverse health outcomes, including insulin resistance, inflammation, and abnormal blood fat levels,” said the study conducted by Dr Ming Sun, Dr Josef Fritz and Dr Tanja Stocks.
Consequently, individuals with similar BMIs may have distinct cancer risks due to differences in fat distribution, they noted.
The study analysed data from 339,190 individuals collected from various Swedish populations who had undergone health assessments with BMI and WC assessments from 1981-2019 (61 per cent objectively measured, 39 per cent self-reported, mean age 51.4 years). Cancer diagnoses were obtained from the Swedish Cancer Register.
The authors calculated relative risks associated with obesity-related cancers for WC and BMI, taking into account multiple factors that could influence the results, such as age, smoking habits, and sociodemographic factors including education level, income, birth country and marital status.
During a median follow-up of 14 years, 18,185 established obesity-related cancers were recorded.
After accounting for BMI, high WC still remained a risk factor for obesity-related cancer in men. This suggests that the elevated risk associated with abdominal adiposity is specific, and not explained by high body size alone, as measured by BMI.
Among women, the associations were weaker and similar for both WC and BMI.
“A plausible explanation is that men are more likely to store fat viscerally, while women generally accumulate more subcutaneous and peripheral fat,” said authors in Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Including hip circumference into risk models may provide further insights into this sex difference and enhance the association between WC and cancer, particularly for women, they added.
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