Waist CircumferenceĪnother alternative to measuring diabetes in Asian populations is to use waist circumference or waist size, according to Ong. While the current recommendation is to screen people who are overweight starting at age 35, screening for Asian Americans could start earlier at 35 regardless of their BMI or body weight, Lin said. Related: Researchers Say Waist-to-Hip Ratio Should Replace BMI-Here’s Why What Are Some Good Alternative Measures? AgeĪ recent study suggested screening for diabetes based on age-rather than weight-in order to detect cases of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes earlier in diverse populations. “If you look at somebody’s vitals and their BMI is not yet at 25, you may miss the opportunity to guide and counsel your patients on healthy changes that can prevent them from progressing or even developing type two diabetes,” Lin told Verywell. If health professionals fail to consider or overlook other risk factors specific to Asian Americans, it can lead to missed opportunities to screen for prediabetes or even a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, said Rose Lin, MD, an endocrinologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. But this doesn't address the significant diversity among the Asian American populations, which include South Asian, East Asian, and Pacific Islander. “The American Diabetic Society does have lower BMI recommendations for Asians. For example, Filipino and South Asian adults have considerably higher diabetes prevalence than Chinese adults, according to a 2022 study. There could be significant differences in fat and muscle distribution within diverse Asian ethnic groups, according to Ong. Related: Study: BMI Measurements Should Be Tailored To Race and Ethnicity Why BMI Isn't a Good Measure for Asian American Health And using BMI as a broad indicator might also neglect important nuances among different ethnicities in Asian communities. Research shows that prediabetes and diabetes are prevalent in Asian populations even if their BMIs are within a healthy range-a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. It also influences your insulin sensitivity and glucose intolerance and impacts your overall cardiometabolic health.” “This fat is metabolically active and surrounds your heart, liver, and internal organs that you may not see. “They may not look fat, but they have significant visceral fat, which is the fat that we are concerned about,” Ong told Verywell. But the standard BMI measures may be unable to reflect diabetes and obesity risks in Asian Americans accurately.Īsian Americans tend to have higher fat distributions but lower muscle mass compared to other ethnic groups, and their body weight might be lower as a result, according to Caroline Ong, MD, MS, a cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Most healthcare providers use the body mass index (BMI)-a person’s weight divided by their height-as a way to assess diabetes risks.
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