Normal weight individuals with belly fat at highest CVD risk
Munich, Germany – Normal weight individuals who carry weight concentrated in their belly have a higher death risk than obese individuals, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012. The results were presented by Dr Karine Sahakyan from the Mayo Clinic.
"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," said Dr Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, senior author on the study and a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "This group has the highest death rate, even higher than those who are considered obese based on BMI. From a public health perspective, this is a significant finding."
The study included 12,785 subjects aged 18 years and older from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) and provided a representative sample of the United States population. The surveys recorded body measurements such as height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference, as well as socioeconomic status, comorbidities, physiological and laboratory measurements. Baseline data were matched to the National Death Index to assess deaths at follow up.
Subjects were divided into three categories of BMI (normal: 18.5-24.9kg/m2; overweight: 25.0-29.9kg/m2; and obese: >30kg/m2) and two categories of waist-to-hip ratio (normal: END
"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," said Dr Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, senior author on the study and a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "This group has the highest death rate, even higher than those who are considered obese based on BMI. From a public health perspective, this is a significant finding."
The study included 12,785 subjects aged 18 years and older from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) and provided a representative sample of the United States population. The surveys recorded body measurements such as height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference, as well as socioeconomic status, comorbidities, physiological and laboratory measurements. Baseline data were matched to the National Death Index to assess deaths at follow up.
Subjects were divided into three categories of BMI (normal: 18.5-24.9kg/m2; overweight: 25.0-29.9kg/m2; and obese: >30kg/m2) and two categories of waist-to-hip ratio (normal: END