The little matter of the waist Premium

Discover the significance of waist measurement and how it can predict the risk of heart disease.

It is defined as the narrowest part between the lowest rib and the hip. The waist.

Cut to an everyday scene at the airport: “Didn’t I tell you to put everything on the scanner? Belt, purse, watch, mobile, everything.”

“But sir,” the man in front me in the queue gently mumbled.

“No questions, please follow the airport rules.”

One more journey to the scanner, and he was back, looking nervous. “Raise your hands on to the sides.” He looked like a child playing “aeroplane, aeroplane”.

And that’s when the accident took place. Losing the hold of his hands, his trousers fell. Shrieks from fellow passengers drowned the mumble of an apology from the security officer. His long, oversized shirt saved the day.

Now a bit of history. Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet (1796-1894) lived in Belgium. He was a polymath and genius, and his level of intelligence was considered much ahead of his time. When the French government wanted someone to develop a simple formula to pick out healthy citizens for the purpose of military recruitment, the only person they could think of was Quetelet, and he readily accepted.