Doctors can predict accurately if someone is prone to diabetes by looking at their waistline, according to a research paper released by a local hospital on Tuesday.
Chang Yi-cheng (張以承) of the metabolism and endocrinology department at National Taiwan University Hospital’s Yunlin branch, said this was because big waistlines are one of the four risk factors for diabetes.
Chang, one of the co-authors of the research paper published in last month’s Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association, said that by evaluating the four risk factors, doctors can predict a person’s chances of developing diabetes with up to 75 percent accuracy.
The other risk factors are age, a history of taking medication for high blood pressure and a family history of diabetes, he said.
In the research conducted by the hospital in Yunlin County, the hospital gave a free blood test to 676 people in 2006 and 1,938 people in 2008 and found some had diabetes.
The study later looked for the four risk factors in all the people who received the blood tests, Chang said. Researchers found that 75 percent of the people who had all four risk factors had also been previously found to have diabetes through the blood tests.
Of the four risk factors, Chang said, age, family history and a history of taking high blood pressure medication cannot be changed, but one’s waistline can be controlled.
“Male waistlines should not exceed 90cm while female waistlines should not exceed 80cm,” he said.
Chang and Lin Chao-wei (林昭維), director of the hospital’s Cardiology Department, conducted the research under the guidance of Professor Chuang Li-ming (莊立民) of National Taiwan University and Huang Jui-jen (黃瑞仁), deputy superintendent of the hospital.
Diabetes is a condition in which the body either does not produce enough, or does not properly respond to, the hormone insulin.
This causes glucose to accumulate in the blood and can lead to a number of potential complications.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS