If your tummy sticks out, watch out: you may be at greater risk of developing heart disease, a new study concludes

In fact, abdominal obesity matters much more to heart health than overall obesity - and the larger your belly, the higher your risk,  the lead researcher said.

Women with the largest amount of abdominal fat suffered a 44-percent higher risk for heart disease than the skinniest women, while men with the largest abdomens were 42 percent more likely to develop heart problems, according to a study by Kaiser Permanente of Northern California in Oakland.

Important prevention implications

Dr. Carlos Iribarren's study involving more than 101,000 people also found that the youngest  men and women with the most abdominal fat had the highest risk for heart disease than people with the least amount of belly fat.

"I think it has important implications for prevention," he said. "Don't let this happen to you when you're young, that's kind of the message."

In addition, when looking at categories of body mass index, the researchers discovered that while two people could have the same index, one could have a higher risk of heart disease because of the belly size.

To reach his findings, Iribarren measured the distance from the back to the upper abdomen, midway between the top of the pelvis and the last rib. He said the method of measurement - the "sagittal abdominal diameter" - is more reliable in predicting the risk for heart disease than the popular body mass index used by so many health professionals.

Body mass index is a formula comparing your height to weight, and is used by health experts to decide whether you are overweight, suffer from obesity or enjoy a normal weight. However, muscular people, such as athletes, have high body mass indexes, but they're extremely healthy.

For more information

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This article includes information from Reuters Health

Source: Kaiser Permanente of Northern California
Reference: American Journal of Epidemiology

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