HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Farin, H. M. Articles by Reaven, G. M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Farin, H. M. Articles by Reaven, G. M Agricola Articles by Farin, H. M. Articles by Reaven, G. M

Body mass index and waist circumference both contribute to differences in insulin-mediated glucose disposal in nondiabetic adults^1,2,3

¹ From the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA

Background: Overweight and obese individuals are more likely to be insulin resistant and at increased risk of adverse clinical outcomes. Questions remain as to whether waist circumference (WC) or body mass index (BMI) most effectively identifies insulin-resistant individuals.

Objective: This study quantified insulin-mediated glucose uptake (IMGU) in 330 apparently healthy volunteers and compared the relation between this value and measurements of WC and BMI.

Design: IMGU was quantified via determination of the steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentration during the insulin-suppression test. Differences in SSPG concentrations due to variations in WC within a given BMI category, as well as those due to differences in BMI within a given WC classification, were then compared.

Results: BMI and WC correlated with each other (r = 0.78, P < 0.001) and equally with SSPG concentrations (r = 0.58 and 0.57, respectively; P < 0.001). When stratified by BMI, abdominally obese subjects within the overweight BMI category had higher SSPG concentrations than did those with a normal WC (P < 0.05). When classified by WC, subjects in the overweight BMI category had greater SSPG concentrations than did subjects in the normal BMI category within the normal WC category (P < 0.01), as did subjects in the obese BMI category in comparison with subjects in the overweight BMI category within the obese WC category (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: The more overweight or obese a person, the greater the degree of insulin resistance; differences in adiposity accounted for approximately one-third of the variation in IMGU, irrespective of the index used. Furthermore, there was no difference in the relation between the degree of insulin resistance and either index of adiposity.

Key Words: Obesity indexes • insulin resistance • abdominal obesity • overall obesity • body mass index • waist circumference

This article has been cited by other articles:

				U. Riserus, J. Arnlov, and L. Berglund Long-Term Predictors of Insulin Resistance: Role of lifestyle and metabolic factors in middle-aged men Diabetes Care, November 1, 2007; 30(11): 2928 - 2933. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. C. Sung, M. C. Ryan, B. S. Kim, Y. K. Cho, B. I. Kim, and G. M. Reaven Relationships Between Estimates of Adiposity, Insulin Resistance, and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in a Large Group of Nondiabetic Korean Adults Diabetes Care, August 1, 2007; 30(8): 2113 - 2118. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. M. Reaven The Individual Components of the Metabolic Syndrome: Is There a Raison d'Etre? J. Am. Coll. Nutr., June 1, 2007; 26(3): 191 - 195. [Full Text] [PDF]