BODY MASS INDEX TYPE-2 DIABETES REVISION

That this House welcomes the new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines revising the thresholds for healthy Body Mass Index for British Asians; notes that the point at which the level of body fat becomes risky to health varies between ethnic groups and that people from black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups are at a higher risk of developing type-2 diabetes than white Europeans; recognises that people of South Asian descent are up to six times more likely to develop type-2 diabetes; further notes that the new lower thresholds to indicate increased risk of type-2 diabetes are that a 5ft 11in (1.8m) Asian man should weigh below 11st 11lb (75kg) and an Asian woman who is 5ft 3in (1.6m) should weigh less than 9st 4lb (59kg); and calls on the Department of Health to commission further research to determine revised BMI figures for other weight-related diseases.