Why a belly scan might be better than a tape measure
Ultrasound measurements of intraabdominal fat estimate the metabolic syndrome better than do measurements of waist circumference
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Doctors used a special ultrasound to measure fat inside the belly and compared it to just measuring waist size. The ultrasound fat measure was better at showing who had bad blood sugar and cholesterol.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
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Evidence Score
A snapshot of a population at a single point in time. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine the direction of cause and effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Doctors used a special ultrasound to measure fat inside the belly and compared it to just measuring waist size. The ultrasound fat measure was better at showing who had bad blood sugar and cholesterol.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 542 / 44
Evidence Score
A snapshot of a population at a single point in time. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine the direction of cause and effect.
Publication
Authors
Stolk RP, Meijer R, Mali WP, Grobbee DE, van der Graaf Y, Secondary Manifestations of Arterial Disease Study Group
Related Content
Claims (4)
Waist circumference demonstrates superior predictive validity for metabolic disease and all-cause mortality compared to body mass index in adult human populations.
Just measuring your waist size doesn’t tell you as much about your blood sugar and cholesterol levels as an ultrasound scan of your belly fat does — even when you already know someone’s weight and age.
Measuring belly fat with an ultrasound shows a stronger link to bad blood sugar, cholesterol, and fat levels than just measuring waist size, even when you account for a person’s age, sex, and overall weight.
As people get older, their belly fat tends to increase — and this increase is a bit more clearly linked to age when measured with ultrasound than when just measuring the waist.