Heart Disease Risk Is Affected by Waist Circumference

STATES CHRONICLE – As obesity is becoming an increasingly bigger problem for our society, with the number of obese people overtaking the number of underweight people worldwide, more and more studies are appearing in their attempt to say their two cents on the issue. And as it happens with most studies related to body weight, there are a great number of dissenting opinions.

For example, some are still claiming the BMI (body mass index) to be highly relevant in most health-related issues, even though it was proven repeatedly that the index really didn’t make a difference one way or another. And of course, other studies are actually trying to figure out how to reduce the health issues caused by being overweight.

So how does one reduce these chances? Well, according to a new study from Salt Lake City’s Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute, heart disease risk is affected by waist circumference rather than by the body mass index. And a decrease in the circumference is linked to a decrease in the risk of developing any type of heart disease.

The study claims that an apple-shaped body is far worse for your chances of developing heart disease than a pear-shaped body, as the abdominal fat is more harmful than hip fat. Performed on diabetes patients without any heart disease symptoms, the study shows how left ventricular function gets worse as the waistline gets bigger.

According to one of the study’s authors, Dr. Brent Muhlestein, it has been known for a while now that abdominal obesity was linked to plaque build-up in the arteries far more than any other forms of obesity. And as the left ventricle is the body’s primary pumping chamber, any abnormal ventricular function on its end is a common cause for heart disease.

Texas cardiologist Dr. Sarah Samaan says that because abdominal fat produces such a wide range of inflammatory substances, heart disease isn’t the only thing it affects. Diabetes and high blood pressure are also quite highly correlated with abdominal fat, as are stiffer hearts, known to cause heart failure.

More findings resulting from the study claim that the risk levels out at about 45 inches in waist size, although the recommended size for men is of 40 inches or less and that for women is of 34 inches or less. And exercising and keeping a healthy diet is how the experts recommend we should go about reducing our waist circumferences.

Even though the study was presented at a cardiology in Chicago this Saturday, until it is published in a peer-reviewed medical journal the finding won’t be verified. This means that the data is still preliminary, although it does fit with other previously confirmed studies.

Image source: YouTube