An expansion in a woman’s waistline increases her risk of suffering from gallstones and needing surgery to remove them, a study published recently showed.

The study of more than 42,000 women in the United States showed women with a waistline of 36 inches or more were nearly twice as likely to require surgery to remove gallstones than slimmer females.

Waist-to-hip ratio, dividing the waist size by hip size, was another way of assessing the risk of gallstones. Women with a ratio 0.86 in the study had a 40 per cent greater chance of developing gallstones than those with a ratio of 0.70 or less.

“Abdominal circumference and waist to hip ratio were associated with an increased risk of cholecystectomy,” said Dr Chung-Jyi Tsai, of the University of Kentucky, referring to the surgery on the gallbladder.

Gallstones develop when bile, a liquid that helps to digest fats, hardens into pieces of stone-like material. They can range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball.

Obesity is a leading risk factor behind gallstones, especially in women, but Tsai and his team said that if a woman had a bulging midriff, even if she was not overweight or obese, there was an increased chance of gallstones.

The researchers, who reported the findings in the journal Gut, examined women who were between 30 and 66 in 1986 when the study began and followed up their medical history to 2000.

By the end of the study, more than 3,000 of the women needed gallstone surgery. Diabetes, cholesterol-lowering drugs, rapid weight loss, fasting, being female and over 60 were other risk factors for gallstones.

3
Things in the diet that may prevent gallstone

1.Coffee: A recent research reveals that drinking coffee can keep gallstone disease at bay as it inhibits the gallbladder’s ability to absorb fluids that contain too much of cholesterol. This cuts down the chances of gallstone formation. According to the researchers caffeine, the principal constituent of coffee, is the probable protective agent.

2. Vegetarian diet: Studies reveal that a vegetarian diet cuts down the amount of cholesterol in bile (greenish yellowish fluid produced by the liver). This is because a vegetarian diet tends to be low in fat and cholesterol. It’s also rich in fibre which removes cholesterol by absorbing the fat in bile.

3. Nuts: Recent studies reveal that eating nuts is associated with a reduced risk of gallstone formation. Nut consumption cuts down total cholesterol, particularly bad cholesterol, in our system. The effect of nuts on the blood lipids (broken part of fat) is the reason for their ability to prevent gallstones.