Having a larger waist circumference is the main indicator of metabolic syndrome risk in adults from middle-income countries.

People with bigger waistlines are much more likely to have multiple health problems like high blood sugar, bad cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

Waist circumference demonstrates superior predictive validity for metabolic disease and all-cause mortality compared to body mass index in adult human populations.

Increased waist circumference is associated with a higher risk of metabolic disease and mortality, independent of total body weight.

Measuring your waist compared to your height, your weight relative to your height, or just your waist size can all tell you something about your risk for heart problems—even if you don’t have diabetes or high blood pressure.

Measuring your waist compared to your height isn’t any better than just using your BMI or waist size to guess your heart risk—all three are about equally useful in this group.