Why were definition cut-points in Japanese women and men changed (to >90cm in men, >80cm in women)?
The official Japanese position is accurate if healthcare professionals and scientists only look at waist measurement as an accurate expression of visceral adiposity measured by computerized tomography. However, it would seem that revised Japanese values conforming with the rest of Asia best reflect the onset of risk factors such as heart disease and diabetes. When the original IDF report was published, many people from around the world challenged the fact that the figures for Japan were significantly out of line with the rest of Asia, but they were the official Japanese obesity figures and remain the official Japanese policy as reported by the ‘Committee to evaluate diagnostic standards for metabolic syndrome’. However, there have been a number of recent publications which point out that the waist circumference figures for Japan, with respect to determining the risk of heart disease and diabetes, are similar to the rest of Asia. On this basis, the IDF Task Force on Epidemiology and Pre
