New recommendations in an updated NICE draft guideline has encouraged people to keep their waist measurement to less than half their height to reduce the risk of potential health problems.

For the first time, this update encourages adults with a body mass index (BMI) below 35 kg/m² (obesity class 2) to measure their own waist-to-height ratio.

Using the waist-to-height ratio, in conjunction with BMI, can help to provide a practical estimate of central adiposity, which is the accumulation of fat around the abdomen, to help to assess and predict health risks, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular disease.

The 2019 Health Survey for England estimated the prevalence of obesity in adults in England to be 28 per cent, with overweight affecting a further 36 per cent. Government estimates indicate that the current costs of obesity in the UK are £6.1 billion to the NHS and £27 billion to wider society.

The guideline highlights the importance of healthcare professionals asking permission before any discussions with people that are linked to being overweight, obese or central adiposity, and to ensure they do so in a sensitive and positive manner.

Dr Paul Chrisp, director for centre for guidelines at NICE, said: “Our updated draft guideline offers people a simple and effective way of measuring their weight so they can understand the factors that could impact on their health and take action to address them. Our committee found that a clear benefit of using the waist-to-height ratio is that people can easily measure it themselves, interpret the results, and seek medical advice if they are at increased health risk.

“The evidence shows that people from some Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups have a greater propensity to develop central adiposity and have an increased cardiometabolic health risk so we have lowered the BMI thresholds for those communities, in line with international guidance, to ensure people from those family backgrounds can get support from weight management services if required. We are now looking for views from the healthcare professionals and the public on the proposed recommendations in the guideline before final publication.”