Having Fat Around the Abdomen Predicts Heart Disease

Being fat is not healthy. Most people already know it. But researchers are finding more and more evidence that its not just being fat - it's where you are fat that is important. Specifically, the waist-hip ratio is more predictive of heart disease, said researchers in a recent press release.

New research has determined that someone can be at an increased risk of developing heart disease without even looking like they're 'fat.' After conducting an extensive study, researchers have determined that more factors are involved than simply one's height, weight, and waist measurement when predicting heart disease.

In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers compared the rate of heart disease, body mass index (BMI), high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and distribution of fat.

"The size of the hips seems to predict a protective effect. In other words, a big waist with comparably big hips does not appear to be as worrisome as a big waist with small hips," said Dexter Canoy, M.Phil., M.D., Ph.D., a research fellow in epidemiology and public health at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Researchers based their findings on their study of 24,508 people (both women and men), in the United Kingdom. All of the participants were between 45 to 79 years old. All of the participants were studied between 1993 to 1997 and a follow-up was also conducted approximately nine years later. Over 2,000 participants had developed heart disease during this time.

Their findings included that:
-When comparing men who had the smallest difference in their waist-hip ratio had a significantly lower risk of having coronary heart disease than those men who had the highest waist-hip ratios.

-Men with the largest waist-hip ratios had a significantly larger risk, 55 percent, of having some type of coronary heart disease.

-Women who had the largest waist-hip ratio were nearly assured of developing heart disease, since 91 percent of the women who had participated did develop heart disease

-Using only waist-only measurements did not provide an accurate reflection of the chances of developing heart disease. This measurement proved to underestimate the risks by 10 to 18 percent.

Funding for this study was provided by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Department of Health, Food Standards Agency, Medical Research Council, Stroke Association, Europe against Cancer Programme Commission of the European Union, and Wellcome Trust, and Christ's College.

Source:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/aha-afd121007.php