Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
A new poll [1] has shown that when asked to estimate, UK men misjudge by inches when it comes to their waists. The average estimated waist size of nearly 1,000 men surveyed was 35.8 inches [2], 2.1 inches slimmer than the English average (37.9 inches) [3] and 2.2 inches smaller than the Scottish average (38 inches) [4]. Health charities say this rose-tinted view is a recipe for danger as expanding waist sizes are a risk factor for cancer, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Worryingly, nearly nine out of ten (87%) men in the survey did not know how to measure their waists, with a staggering 47 per cent of men incorrectly believing they can get away with measuring just above their hips. A meagre one in eight (13%) knew the correct method, which involves measuring at the midpoint between their ribs and the top of the hips [5].
Three health charities, the British Heart Foundation (BHF), Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK, have teamed up to urge men to face the music and do something about their waist size as part of their Active Fat campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of carrying extra weight around their middle.
http://www.activefat.org.uk/pressrelease.html
Worryingly, nearly nine out of ten (87%) men in the survey did not know how to measure their waists, with a staggering 47 per cent of men incorrectly believing they can get away with measuring just above their hips. A meagre one in eight (13%) knew the correct method, which involves measuring at the midpoint between their ribs and the top of the hips [5].
Three health charities, the British Heart Foundation (BHF), Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK, have teamed up to urge men to face the music and do something about their waist size as part of their Active Fat campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of carrying extra weight around their middle.
http://www.activefat.org.uk/pressrelease.html