Pot belly is key indicator

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Oct, 2007

A tape measure, not just a bathroom scale, may help better assess heart disease risk, indicate researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, who found that people with a larger waist-to-hip ratio may be at increased risk for heart disease. The research evaluates the association between different measures of obesity and the prevalence of arterial disease.

"Our study shows that people who develop fat around the middle have more atherosclerotic plaque than those who have smaller waist-to-hip ratios," declares James de Lemos, associate professor of internal medicine. "The risk was the same for both men and women who develop abdominal fat."

Prior studies examining the association between obesity and cardiovascular risk reported varied results for overweight subjects who eventually had clinical cardiovascular events. The patients often were evaluated for obesity on the sole measurement of body mass index (BMI), a weight-to-height ratio commonly used in doctors' offices to gauge obesity.

"Fat that accumulates around your waist seems to be more biologically active as it secretes inflammatory proteins that contribute to atherosclerotic plaque buildup, whereas fat around your hips doesn't appear to increase risk for cardiovascular disease at all," De Lemos explains. "We think the key message for people is to prevent accumulation of central fat early on in their lives. To do so, they will need to develop lifelong dietary and exercise habits that prevent the development of the 'pot belly.'"