Waist Size and Gallstones

At medical school many years ago we were taught that the typical patient with gallstones was “fair, fat, female, forty, and fecund”. One doesn’t say “fecund” often these days – fertile or fruitful are more appropriate terms. And “fat” is considered rather rude; overweight or even obese is more acceptable. But the principal description proved to be fairly accurate. The trouble is that, nowadays, disguises make the characterization difficult: hair dye takes care of “fair”, contraception counters fecundity, and a woman’s true age should not be apparent.

Now careful research has added an important diagnostic tool to the young doctor’s bag – the tape measure. In a study of more than 42,000 women, a weight measurement of 36 inches or greater was associated with twice as many gallstone surgeries (cholecystectomies) as those done for women with a waist of 26 inches or less. Another measurement - the waist-to-hip ratio – was also correlated with an increased risk of gallstones.

(Medical ‘rules’ aren’t always correct; I’m male, and I had a cholecystectomy for gallstones when I was 60+ - but I was a bit chubby back then.)