A pot (or beer) belly is not something we usually associate with good health, right? Well as it turns out, even for people with overall healthy weight, carrying extra pounds in the midsection spells danger. In fact, people with normal weight who carry their fat at their waistlines may be at higher risk of death over the years than overweight or obese people whose fat concentration is typically on the hips and thighs.
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As the Mayo Clinic researchers put it, the distribution of fat matters whatever the scale says.
The study, which was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine assessed the five- and 10-year mortality risk in men and women with normal body mass index (BMI) and central obesity compared with those who are classified as overweight or obese based on their BMI. The study tracked more than 15,000 participants who were followed for an average of 14.3 years as part of the U.S.-based Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey or NHANES III. In the study, 11 percent of men and 3 percent of women were of normal weight but had an elevated waist-to-hip ratio, and they were at greater mortality risk (for men, twice the risk) than overweight or obese participants.
The reason? Belly fat is often deposited in the liver, where it makes inflammatory substances that contribute to diabetes and heart disease, explained the study’s senior author, Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, preventive cardiology chief at the Mayo Clinic.
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Image source: emed.com.au
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So how big a belly is considered risky? Take the measurement of the narrowest part of your waist and then divide that by the measurement of the widest part of your hips. If you are a guy, and the result is more than 0.9, then you have “central obesity.” For women, it’s a waist-hip ratio of 0.85 or more. It is critical then to make serious lifestyle changes to lower risk of acquiring a fatal disease.
The findings may be a bit jarring, right? But they serve as a wake-up call for all of us to really take our health seriously. Your thoughts? Let me know on Facebook.
