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A fat belly is bad for your heart

Doctors should measure central obesity to assess cardiovascular risk – even in patients with normal BMI

Risk Factors and Prevention
Obesity


Ljubljana, Slovenia – 20 April 2018: Belly fat, even in people who are not otherwise overweight, is bad for the heart, according to results from the Mayo Clinic presented today at EuroPrevent 2018, a European Society of Cardiology congress.1

 

“See your doctor if your waist is bigger than your hips,” said study author Dr Jose Medina-Inojosa, from the division of Preventive Cardiology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, and The International Clinical Research Centre of St. Anne's University Hospital (FNUSA-ICRC), Brno, Czech Republic.

 

Body mass index (BMI), which is weight relative to height in kg/m2, is used to categorise adults as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. However, BMI does not account for the amount and distribution of fat and muscle.

 

Central obesity is a store of excess fat around the middle of the body and is a marker of abnormal fat distribution. This study tested the hypothesis that people with normal weight and central obesity would have more heart problems than people with normal weight and normal fat distribution.

 

In 1997 to 2000 the study enrolled 1,692 residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, aged 45 years or older. The sample was representative of the county population for age and sex. Participants underwent a clinical examination and measurements were taken of weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference. Central obesity was defined as a ratio dividing the waist circumference by the hip circumference of 0.90 or above for men and 0.85 or above for women.

 

Patients were followed-up from 2000 to 2016 for the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) using linked medical records from the Rochester Epidemiology Project. MACE was defined as heart attack, surgical or percutaneous coronary revascularisation to open blocked arteries, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes.

 

Participants with a normal BMI (18.5–24.9 kg/m2) and central obesity had an approximately two-fold higher long-term risk of MACE compared to participants without central obesity, regardless of their BMI. 

 

Dr Medina-Inojosa said: “People with a normal weight but a fat belly have more chance of heart problems than people without a fat belly, even if they are obese according to BMI. This body shape indicates a sedentary lifestyle, low muscle mass, and eating too many refined carbohydrates.”

 

“The belly is usually the first place we deposit fat, so people classified as overweight BMI but without a fat belly probably have more muscle which is good for health,” he continued. “Muscle is like a metabolic storehouse and helps decrease lipid and sugar levels in the blood.”

 

Participants with a normal BMI and central obesity also had a higher risk of MACE than overweight and obese participants with central obesity. Dr Medina-Inojosa said that overweight and obese people with central obesity might also have more muscle mass which could be protective.

 

He said: “If you have fat around your belly and it’s greater than the size of your hips, visit your doctor to assess your cardiovascular health and fat distribution. If you have central obesity the target will be waist loss rather than weight loss. Exercise more, decrease sedentary time by taking the stairs or getting off the train one stop early and walking, increase your muscle mass with strength and resistance training, and cut out refined carbohydrates.”

 

Dr Medina-Inojosa said it was important for doctors not to assume that people with a normal BMI are not at risk of heart problems or that their fat distribution is normal. He said: “Our study provides evidence that doctors should also measure central obesity to get a better picture of whether a patient is at risk.”

 

ENDS

Notes to editor

Authors: ESC Press Office

Tel: +33 (0)4 89 87 24 83

Mob: +33 (0)6 24 71 28 96

Email: press@escardio.org

 

Notes to editor

 

SOURCES OF FUNDING:  This work was supported by the Project FNUSA-ICRC (No. CZ.1.05/1.1.00/02.0123), by project no. LQ1605 from the National Programme of Sustainability II (MEYS CR), by the project ICRC-ERA-Human Bridge (No. 316345), funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union.

 

DISCLOSURES: None.

 

References and notes

1The abstract ‘Normal-weight central obesity and long-term cardiovascular events: a prospective population-based cohort study’ will be presented during the Young investigator award session IV – Prevention, Epidemiology & Population Science (PEP) which takes place on 20 April from 16:30 to 18:00 CEST in room E3.

 

About EuroPrevent

EuroPrevent is the annual congress of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC), a branch of the ESC, where leading experts get together in an international forum to present their research and share knowledge.

 

About the European Association of Preventive Cardiology

The European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) is a branch of the ESC. Its mission is to promote excellence in research, practice, education and policy in cardiovascular health, primary and secondary prevention.

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

 

Information for journalists attending EuroPrevent 2018

EuroPrevent 2018 will be held from 19 to 21 April at Cankarjev dom, Culture and Congress Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia. The full scientific programme is available here

  • To register on-site please bring a valid press card or appropriate letter of assignment with proof of three recent published articles (cardiology or health-related, or referring to a previous ESC Event).
  • Press registration is not available to industry or its public relations representatives, event management, marketing or communications representatives.