Wrist size indicates metabolic syndrome

ROME, April 13 (UPI) -- Measuring an obese or overweight child's wrist circumference is a better indicator of insulin resistance than body mass index, researchers in Italy say.

Dr. Marco Capizzi and colleagues at the University of Rome say excess fat is one of the main determinants of insulin resistance -- representing the metabolic basis for developing future cardiovascular disease.

Metabolic syndrome involves having three or more of the following:

-- Blood pressure equal to or higher than 130/85 millimeters of mercury.

-- Fasting blood sugar equal to or higher than 100 milligrams per deciliter.

-- Large waist circumference, for men, 40 inches or more, for women 35 inches or more.

-- Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: for men, under 40 mg/dL, for women, under 50 mg/dL.

-- Triglycerides equal to or higher than 150 mg/dL.

The study involved 477 children -- mean age 10 -- who were measured for body mass index, fasting biochemical parameters and insulin resistance. Fifty-one subjects, randomly selected, underwent nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of the wrist to evaluate the transversal wrist.

The study, published in the journal Circulation, found a statistically significant association between measuring the child's wrist and insulin resistance -- wrist circumference accounted for 12 percent to 17 percent of the total variance of insulin resistance.