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Belly Fat Could Shorten Life Of Thin Heart Disease Patients! BMI (body mass index), which is calculated by dividing the weight in kilos by the square of height in meters, is usually used to assess a person’s fatness as a matter of convenience. However, scientists have gradually realized that body fat, instead of body weight, should be the key in evaluating obesity. Using waist-to-hip ratio, it is possible to measure a person’s fat around stomach and abdomen, which is called visceral fat or intra-abdominal fat. Being a known risk factor for heart disease, visceral fat changes how cholesterol is metabolized, increased blood pressure and puts people at risk of diabetes. An excess of visceral fat is known as abdominal obesity or central obesity. Central obesity has been attracted the attention of researchers as early as in 1980s when they discovered its association with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dyslipidemia (abnormal amount of lipids in the blood). The most common types of dyslipidemia are high cholesterol and high triglycerides. On January 28, 2013, researchers from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota reported online in the ‘Journal of the American College of Cardiology’ that waist size might better predict risk of early death for people with heart disease than overall weight. They found that patients with normal weight but had belly fat were more likely to die than obese people whose excess weight were concentrated in their thighs and buttocks.
In order to assess the mortality risk of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) based on a combination of BMI and measures of central obesity, researchers pooled data from 5 studies that included 15,547 patients whose average age was 66. 55 percent of the participants were men. During the follow-up period of roughly 5 years, almost 4,700 people died. Those of normal weight but with belly fat were 27 percent more likely to die than those considered obese as measured by BMI but had less belly fat. People with high belly fat and a normal BMI would most likely have a low amount of muscle mass indicating that they are not fit at all. The researchers therefore suggested that cardiologists should consider weight distribution using waist-to-hip ratio instead of relying on BMI when assessing a patient’s risk. Another study that involved almost 3 million adults reported that while obesity increases the risk of dying early for people with medical conditions, being slightly overweight seem to have a better survival chance. Researchers from United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics published their findings on January 2, 2013 in the ‘Journal of the American Medical Association’. It is possible that, according to researchers, heavier people see their doctor earlier or get examined more often. They suspected that people who are heavier might also be more resilient and better able to withstand a shock to their body system. Central obesity, which is implicated in the development of hypertension, inflammation and insulin resistance, is no doubt associated with worse outcomes in patients with CAD. Moreover, there are other studies that have shown that central obesity is linked to increased mortality, especially in those who’s BMI is in the healthy weight category. The ability of BMI in assessing risks of patients with CAD is questionable, and measures of central obesity have been proven to predict mortality more reliably than BMI. But the CDC’s report indicated that a combination of BMI and waist-to-hip ratio in assessing mortality risk in patients with CAD is better than relying on BMI alone. It, therefore, seems logical that doctors should use both ratios to measure the risk of their patients, especially those with CAD. In fact, some doctors have already routinely measure waist circumference for their patients, and they said it is simple and can readily be added to the standard examination.
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