Belly Fat
may be more dangerous than you can imagine, even if you are a person with
normal weight. People who have a normal weight but have excess belly fat face a higher risk at dying from heart disease than
people who are obese, a study from the Mayo Clinic reveals.
The study analyzed that individuals who had a normal
body-mass index but also had central obesity (a high waist-to-hip ratio) had
the greatest cardiovascular death risk from all causes. Throughout all the
years of research and studies I have encountered, I would have never thought
that a person of normal weight with belly fat would be at a higher risk of
death than an obese person.
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| Lose Belly Fat |
"We knew from previous research that central
obesity is bad, but what is new in this research is that the distribution of
the fat is very important even in people with a normal weight," says
senior author Francisco
Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in
Rochester. "This group has the highest death rate, even higher than those
who are considered obese based on body mass index. From a public health
perspective, this is a significant finding."
I always thought that the skinny or normal weight
guys with the beer bellies were okay since they didn’t have fat all over but
this current research has definitely changed my perspective. According to
Lopez-Jimenez, central obesity increases insulin resistance and people tend to
have less fat in areas where fat may be protective, such as the legs and hips.
Individuals that have central obesity also tend to have much less muscle mass.
Lopez noted that some of the risk is tempered or lessened by fat distribution for obese people.
People who are obese usually have fat in those places where it may be
protected, and they seem to have more muscle mass, he says.
The study contained more than 12,000 people 18 and
older from the Third
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,
which is a representative sample of the U.S. population. The survey recorded
body measurements such as height, weight, waist circumference and hip
circumference, as well as socioeconomic status, comorbidities, and
physiological and laboratory measurements. Baseline data were matched to the National
Death Index to assess deaths at follow-up.
People with cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease were excluded by researchers to make sure their results reflected body
type. Adjustments for age, sex, race, smoking, diabetes, hypertension,
dyslipidemia and baseline body mass index were analyzed as well.
The results concluded that the risk of
cardiovascular death was about three times higher, and the risk of death from
all causes was two times higher, in the individuals of normal weight with
central obesity, compared with those with a normal body mass index (BMI) and
waist-to-hip ratio.
The only way to
reduce the risk for normal weight people is to lose weight and build muscle
mass, says Lopez-Jimenez, so that the weight is redistributed. Exercise and
a healthy diet is the proper way to treat this problem because you lose weight
and build muscle mass at the same time.
Many individuals know their body mass index these
days; it’s also vital for them to know that a normal BMI doesn’t mean their
risk for heart disease is low, concludes Dr. Lopez-Jimenez. Where the fat is
distributed on their body is important, and it can be determined easily by
getting a waist-to-hip measurement, even if their body weight is within normal
limits, says Lopez-Jimenez. To be on the safe side you should always engage in
a proper diet and exercise for at least thirty minutes a day. This will limit
all health risks, improve your physique and make you feel great about yourself.
Sources:
Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., cardiologist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.;
Gregg Fonarow, M.D., spokesman, American Heart Association, and professor,
cardiology, University of California, Los Angeles; Aug. 27, 2012, presentation,
European Society of Cardiology Congress, Munich, Germany. Health
