Measuring your waist could reveal if you are at risk of at least six cancers, new research suggests.
Experts found a four inch (11cm) increase in waist measurement over the course of 14 years makes an obesity-related cancer, including colon, breast and pancreatic cancer, more likely.
A group of Swedish researchers came to this conclusion after analysing almost 340,000 patient health records and their waist circumference and body-mass-index (BMI) over more than a decade.
They found that a middle-aged spread— obesity around the abdomen — was an important indicator of cancer risk for men, raising their risk of the disease by 25 per cent.
However, body mass index (BMI), which is traditionally used to measure excess weight, was not as accurate in assessing this cancer risk.
A rise male BMI was only linked to 19 per cent increase in the risk of cancer.
This led the authors to suggest waist-circumference may be a more important measure of obesity-related cancer risk in men.
However, for women, researchers found BMI and waist circumference gave an equal measurement of risk.
Gaining an extra few inches on your waist could increase your risk of multiple cancers by 25 per cent, a Swedish study suggests
Both a 12cm (4.7in) growth in female waist circumference and a 4.3 point increase in BMI were linked to a 12 per cent higher risk of cancer.
The study authors, from Lund University, explained that waist circumference could be better measure for cancer risk in men because BMI ‘does not provide information on fat distribution’.
They said toxic stomach fat, like a beer belly or a spare tyre, that surrounds vital organs, and which has previously been linked to cancer risk, is better measured by waist circumference.
In comparison, BMI measures total fat in the body, not taking into account where that fat is located.
They said this means two people with the same BMI could have a different cancer risk.
The researchers added that the sex variation could be explained by the different ways men and women accumulate fat.
Men are more likely to pile on excess pounds around their bellies, while women spread it more evenly in areas like the arms and legs or buttocks.
The NHS advises to people to look at their waist to height ratio rather than just their wait circumference to determine if they have a healthy level of body fat.
A 2023 study found that the distribution of someone’s fat was more important to their overall fat than just their body weight. Fat around the midsection, which stresses crucial organs, led to increased risk of diseases that could lead to premature death
Under the BMI system, a score of 18.5 to 25 is healthy. A score of 25 to 29 counts as overweight, and 30-plus means a person is obese, the stage at which chances of illness rocket
Hollywood hunk or hulk? Muscular celebrities like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Vin Diesel and Arnold Schwarzenegger are deemed obese under the Body Mass Index formula which is widely used by health authorities around the world. Some scientists are now arguing it should be replaced. Figures for Mr Schwarzenegger are from his ‘peak’ as a bodybuilder
To do so, use a tape measure to determine the circumference of your waist just above the belly button, using either inches or centimetres, then do the same with your height.
Next, you divide the waist measurement by your height, using the same units.
A result of 0.4 to 0.5 suggests you are at low risk of health problems linked to waist size.
Figures of 0.5 to 0.6 suggest an ‘increased risk of health problems’ due to too much fat around your organs like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, according to the health service.
Anything above 0.6 means a person is at high risk of these issues.
The new study is just the latest to criticise BMI as a measure of health.
Devised by a Belgian mathematician in the 1830s, doctors have relied on BMI for almost two centuries.
But one flaw is that it is incapable of differentiating between fat distribution and muscle mass.
This means a fit rugby player and couch potato of the exact same height and weight share the same scores — even if the former has a ripped physique and the other carries a spare tyre.
Obesity has been well established as increasing the risk of serious health conditions that can damage the heart, such as high blood pressure, as well as cancers.
Being too fat has been estimated to cause one in 20 cancer cases in Britain, according to the Cancer Research UK.
The full findings of the Swedish research are due to be presented at European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, Spain in May.
