New metric for obesity strongly correlated to premature death

ScienceDaily (July 18, 2012) — Researchers have developed a new metric to measure obesity, called A Body Shape Index, or ABSI, that combines the existing metrics of Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference and shows a better correlation with death rate than do either of these individual measures.

See Also:Health & MedicineObesityFitnessWorkplace HealthDiseases and ConditionsInfant's HealthHealth PolicyReferenceBody mass indexOverweightNutrition and pregnancyObesity

The full results are reported July 18 in the open access journal PLoS ONE, and the work was led by Nir Krakauer of City College of New York.

The authors analyzed data from over 14,000 US adults taken as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and conclude that the new measure, which has little correlation with height, weight, or BMI, appears to be a substantial risk factor for premature death.

"Measuring body dimensions is straightforward compared to other most medical tests, but it's been challenging to link these with health," Krakauer comments. "Our results give evidence that the power-law scaling of waist circumference, weight, and other body measurements can be used to develop body shape indices that point to added risk."

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U.S. Ranks 131st in World for Premature Birth Rate

HealthDay – 3 hrs ago WEDNESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- More than 15 million -- or 12 percent -- of U.S. babies are born prematurely each year, according to a report released Wednesday by the March of Dimes and several other organizations.

This gives the United States a ranking of 131st in the world for its rate of preterm births, on a par with Somalia, Thailand and Turkey and slightly lower than the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the report said.

"It was surprising to see the U.S. ranked 131st in terms of its rate of preterm birth," said report co-author Christopher Howson. "This really should be seen as a call to action in the United States."

According to the report, more than 1 million of these babies die as a result of complications from being born too early, making prematurity the leading cause of newborn death in the United States. Many others go on to have lifelong disabilities.

Babies who are born before 37 weeks' gestation are considered premature.

"Preterm babies can have developmental delays, cerebral palsy and, with extreme prematurity

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Cheap, safe device helps avoid premature birth

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