Thigh length could help detect diabetes, according to a study by researchers in Denmark.
More than four million people in the UK currently have diagnosed diabetes, with type 2 diabetes making up nine in ten cases. A further 1.3 million people are estimated to be living with the condition without a diagnosis.
For many, the slow onset of diabetes symptoms, which can include fatigue, thirst and the need to urinate more often, can cause the disease to go unrecognised for years.
A research team from the Technical University of Denmark say they may have found a solution: a simple, at-home self-examination that measures thigh length among other things.
Dr Daniel Yoo, a researcher at the university, said type 2 diabetes is easy to diagnose with a blood test, but that people who do not suspect they have it will not go to a doctor for one. He said an online test at home can encourage people to see a doctor.
The test, called MEDWACS, can be done online and was developed using 30 years of health data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the US.
Testing on groups in the US and South Korea found the exam was highly effective at detecting people with both prediabetes and undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.
How the test works
The test asks questions on seven different parameters, along with basic information on the participant's sex, age and BMI. All answers can be gathered at home using a tape measure, a bathroom scale and a standard blood pressure monitor.
The most surprising sign of diabetes risk, the researchers found, was short thigh length. They wrote that the length of the femur reflects nutrition in early childhood, and that poor nutrition in the first years of life slightly inhibits bone growth and is closely linked to an increased risk of diabetes decades later.
Researchers also said that because the body's largest muscle group is located in the thigh, and these muscles remove sugar from the blood, shorter legs mean less muscle mass to absorb that sugar, raising diabetes risk.
