Sagittal Abdominal Diameter - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sagittal Abdominal Diameter (SAD) is a measure of visceral obesity, the amount of fat in the gut region. SAD is the distance from the small of the back to the upper abdomen at the point midway between the top of the pelvis and the bottom of the ribs, measured while standing. SAD is a strong predictor of coronary disease

Coronary disease

Coronary disease refers to the failure of coronary circulation to supply adequate circulation to cardiac muscle and surrounding tissue. It is already the most common form of disease affecting the heart and an important cause of premature death in Europe, the Baltic states, Russia, North and South...

, with higher values indicating increased risk independent of BMI

Body mass index

The body mass index , or Quetelet index, is a heuristic proxy for human body fat based on an individual's weight and height. BMI does not actually measure the percentage of body fat. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing...

.

For persons of normal BMI, SAD should be under 25 centimetres (9.8 in). The amount this measure exceeds 30 centimetres (11.8 in) correlates to increased cardiovascular

Cardiovascular disease

Heart disease or cardiovascular disease are the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis...

risk and insulin resistance

Insulin resistance

Insulin resistance is a physiological condition where the natural hormone insulin becomes less effective at lowering blood sugars. The resulting increase in blood glucose may raise levels outside the normal range and cause adverse health effects, depending on dietary conditions. Certain cell types...

. SAD measure of men in their 40s, greater than 25 cm, also predicts significantly higher risk of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

30 years later. An article in Annals of Neurology

Annals of Neurology

Annals of Neurology is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering neurology....

links visceral fat to lower brain volume.

A related measurement is Supine Abdominal Height (SAH), the abdominal height as measured in the supine position

Supine position

The supine position is a position of the body: lying down with the face up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down, sometimes with the hands behind the head or neck. When used in surgical procedures, it allows access to the peritoneal, thoracic and pericardial regions; as well as the...

. The SAH method is easier for self-monitoring, but gives slightly lower results due to gravity; the values are not directly comparable.

See also