Waist management: gauging your risk. (Health).

A $2.99 fabric tape measure may do a better job than a$65 bathroom scale when it comes to determining whether your body-fat level puts you at higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, or breast cancer. Research shows that waist size correlates better with those ailments than body-mass index, a measure of obesity that takes into account both height and weight.

The size of your waist is a surprisingly accurate indicator of your abdominal fat. That's important because many studies have shown that fat stored in the upper body, especially the abdomen, is a strong signal of increased risk of disease. By contrast, people who carry their excess baggage on their hips, bottoms, and thighs are at significantly lower risk.

Lower-body fat accumulates just under the skin, but "abdominal fat is actually inside your abdominal cavity" says MarcAndre Cornier, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the University of Colorado. "Exactly why it is related to a worsening risk, we're not sure, but we know that it is more metabolically active than fat stored below the waist."

The risk of health problems increases at a waist measurement of 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men, according to The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. But a recent study by the New York Obesity Research Center at Columbia University found that the risk of heart disease and diabetes starts inching up at just under 33 inches for women and 35 inches for men. Those numbers hold true ...