Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
A health watchdog is urging millions of people for the first time to ensure their waist size is less than half their height in order to help stave off serious health problems.
The UK has one of the worst obesity rates in Europe, with two in three adults officially overweight or obese in an escalating crisis that now costs the NHS £6bn a year and wider society £27bn.
The most widely used method to check if a person is a healthy weight is body mass index (BMI), which for most people can accurately measure whether they are a healthy weight for their height. A BMI of 18 to 25 is considered a healthy weight, 25 to 30 is overweight, and over 30 is obese.
But amid increasing concerns over the toll of obesity on the health of the population in England and Wales, for the first time ever, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) will say on Friday that adults with a BMI under 35 should also measure their waist-to-height ratio to stay healthy.
www.theguardian.com
The UK has one of the worst obesity rates in Europe, with two in three adults officially overweight or obese in an escalating crisis that now costs the NHS £6bn a year and wider society £27bn.
The most widely used method to check if a person is a healthy weight is body mass index (BMI), which for most people can accurately measure whether they are a healthy weight for their height. A BMI of 18 to 25 is considered a healthy weight, 25 to 30 is overweight, and over 30 is obese.
But amid increasing concerns over the toll of obesity on the health of the population in England and Wales, for the first time ever, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) will say on Friday that adults with a BMI under 35 should also measure their waist-to-height ratio to stay healthy.
Ensure waist size is less than half your height, health watchdog says
Guidance for England and Wales comes amid increasing concern over rate of obesity and cost to NHS
www.theguardian.com