Research

Energy balance

Loss of hip girth (>4.1 cm) is associated with a 1.5 times increased risk of diabetes, independent of weight change, likely due to loss of lean muscle mass.

For men, maintaining hip circumference (likely reflecting muscle mass) is important for diabetes prevention. Losing more than 4.1 cm in hip girth over 9 years increases diabetes risk by 50%, independent of total weight. Focus on preserving muscle mass through resistance training while managing abdominal fat.

GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
In contrast, men who lost more than 4.1 cm in hip girth had 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.0, 2.3) times the risk of diabetes compared with men with stable hip circumference.
Pauline Koh-Banerjee et al. · American Journal of Epidemiology · 2004

Why this rating

Prospective cohort, adjusted for confounders, but hip loss is a less common event and mechanism is inferred.

Source

Changes in Body Weight and Body Fat Distribution as Risk Factors for Clinical Diabetes in US Men

Pauline Koh-Banerjee et al. · American Journal of Epidemiology · 2004

DOI 10.1093/aje/kwh167

cohort · n=22171Cited 370×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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