American waistlines are expanding, says report

A new study reported that American adult waistline is increasing every year. Whereas, body index is constant which is generally the main reason of obesity.  Since last decade, American bellies have spread an inch to a circumference of nearly 39 inches. Indeed, it is really sad news

Dr. Earl Ford, medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control stated that the waist is sort of expanding every year while BMI flat-lined a bit.

Researchers of Centers of Disease Control (CDC) examined the data accumulated by Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In this data they examined 32,816 people above the age of 20 from 1999 till 2011-2012. In the survey, the average was 45 years.  The average waist circumference at the beginning of the survey was 37.6 inches in 1999-2000 which increased up to 38.8 inches in 2011-2012.

On the whole, the waist of women spread almost 1.5 inches and reached an average of 37.8 inches. African-American also had a great increase in their waist with an average increase of 1.6 inches. On the other hand, Mexican Americans faced an increase of 1.8 inches to 39.6 inches.

Abdominal obesity is referred to the waist circumference of about 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women.

BMI is the measurement of weight in relation to height. It may not provide the exact measure of abdominal obesity since it gives the measurement of overall body mass.

According to David Herber, director of UCLA Risk Factor for Obesity Clinic aging might be a cause behind this expansion of waistline. As people grow old they lost muscles due to which they gain more weight. Whereas, the other minor reasons could be lack of sleep and exercise and certain medication.

This extra belly weight could lead to some dangerous health issues. People who suffer from obesity are at higher risk of heart disease, high cholesterol and diabetes.

The research is printed in the Journal of the American Association.