Insulin resistance, an antecedent for type 2 diabetes, appears to be associated with wrist size in obese children, according to new research published by the American Heart Association.
Measuring an overweight childs wrist size seems to be a more effective way of predicting diabetes and heart risk, compared to calculating body mass index, or BMI, according to WebMd. BMI may be misleading for athletes who may have a high percentage of muscle, which weighs more than fat.
Wrist circumference has been a useful method to calculate body frame size, but this study is the first to indicate that it may also help recognize children who are at risk for developing diabetes and heart disease in the future.
The amount of body fat normally determines insulin resistance and heart disease risk in adults; however, this is not the case for children because their bodies are experiencing continuous change during puberty, Dr. Raffaella Buzzetti, senior study author and professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, says, WebMD reports.
In a study of 477 overweight or obese children, researchers measured wrist circumference using a cloth tape measureas well asinsulin levels and insulin resistance.
The researchers predicted that high insulin levels are correlated with higher bone mass. The correlation is an insulin-like chemical that regulates the production of bone cells.Their hypothesis focused on the idea that children with thicker bones have higher insulin levels, and consequentlya higherrisk for heart disease.
Results, which were published in the latest issue of Circulation, indicated thatcloth-measured wrist circumferencewas a more accurate indication of glucose levels and insulin resistance compared to body mass index.
Researchers wrote, Our findings suggest a close relationship among wrist circumference, its bone component, and insulin resistance in overweight/obese children and adolescents, opening new perspectives in the prediction of cardiovascular diseases.
