Belly Fat Matters More Than BMI When Determining
Your Heart Disease Risks
Body mass index (BMI), which gauges weight in
relation to height, is only a crude way to judge
obesity-related heart disease risk. According
to the results of a new study, belly fat is a
better measure of the risks than BMI, and abdominal
obesity could be a greater risk factor than overall
obesity.
Researchers looked at data from more than 100,000
men and women to test whether measuring sagittal
abdominal diameter, or SAD, would improve the
accuracy of predicting heart disease risk.
SAD is the distance from the back to the upper
abdomen midway between the top of the pelvis and
the bottom of the ribs. SAD is a more standardized
measurement than waist circumference, and therefore
less subject to error.
Men with the largest SAD were 42 percent more
likely to develop heart disease, and a large SAD
similarly increased heart disease risk by 44 percent
for women. Heart disease risk also rose with SAD
within BMI categories, even among men of normal
weight.
The relationship between SAD and heart disease
risk was strongest among the youngest men and
women, indicating that people who develop central
obesity earlier in life are more likely to have
more serious problems.
American Journal of Epidemiology December 15,
2006; 164(12)
Yahoo News December 26, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
No, this SAD is not seasonal affective disorder
(though it sure feels like it in the middle of
winter) -- it is short for sagittal abdominal
diameter. This is really a mouth full but is actually
quite a simple concept.
In theory it is easy to measure if you have the
right equipment. You need a giant caliper that
can measure the distance from a person's belly
to their back. So if you have the caliper it is
easier to measure and likely more accurate than
a waist circumference.
However, if you don't have one of these special
calipers then simply measuring your waist size
will also work, especially since waist circumference
is a powerful predictor for disease.
For some time now there has been a sense that
body mass index (BMI) may be a far less accurate
barometer of your health than you think -- since
many athletes (especially weight trainers and
football players) and patients who are completely
out of shape may have similar scores.
Also, increased organ or abdominal adipose tissue
in particular (a "beer belly") has been
shown to be more strongly associated with heart
disease and a variety of chronic diseases than
just weight in relation to height. I'm glad to
see that more accurate measures are being proposed.
There's no better way to trim the fat around
your waist than following an approach that emphasizes
diet AND exercise. Emphasizing one and ignoring
the other is just not a solid strategy to help
you achieve optimal health.
The easiest way to get your diet under control:
Eating the foods your body burns best based on
your unique metabolic type. Because exercise can
be the tricky, but essential, part of your optimal
health plan, keep in mind that you must treat
it like a drug in that it is best prescribed precisely
to get the most benefit and avoid side effects.
On Vital Votes, reader Joshua, from Vista, California,
points out the following:
"The midsection has most of the receptor
sites for cortisol in the body. That is why most
americans living the crappy lifestyles that they
live and eating the crappy foods are becoming
belly obese.
When cortisol goes up from chronic stress, insulin
goes up as well. At that point, insulin unlocks
the door so fat can enter and be stored. So to
make a long story short, most americans that have
belly fat, the pear shape look or spare tire look
are most likely insulin resistant and have cortisol
dysfunctions as well."
|
