Date published: 2007/08/14
The BBC says:
Even a small pot belly can increase the risk of heart disease, scientists warn.
Research from the University of Texas found large waist measurements, relative to hip size, were linked to early signs of heart disease.
This confirms other research that waist size, rather than overall body weight, is a key indicator of heart disease.
The study of 2,744 people suggests that a waist size of 32ins (81cm) for a woman and 37ins (94cm) for a man represents a "significant" raised risk.
The authors looked at men and women who underwent medical tests and imaging scans to identify the early signs of atherosclerosis - the narrowing and hardening of the arteries linked to the development of cardiovascular disease.
They then examined the relationship between the participants' body shapes and the presence of atherosclerosis.
They found adding a few inches to the waist increased the risk of damage in the arteries, even if body weight remained within the normal range.
People with the largest waist-to-hip ratios (WHRs) were almost twice as likely to have calcium deposits, which indicate the onset of atherosclerosis, in the arteries of their hearts, as those with the smallest WHRs.
And even when other risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes and age were taken into account, the link remained strong.
Professor James de Lemos, who led the research, said: "Fat that accumulates around your waist seems to be more biologically active as it secretes inflammatory proteins that contribute to atherosclerotic plaque build-up, whereas fat around your hips doesn't appear to increase risk for cardiovascular disease at all.
"We think the key message for people is to prevent accumulation of central fat early on in their lives.
"Even a small pot belly puts us at higher risk when compared to a flat tummy."
And waist-to-hip ratio was more closely linked to these early signs of heart disease than either body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference alone.
What a great time these health researchers have. You come up with arbitrary formulas based on lots of size and weight measurements, you check each of them for correlation with some property (here the onset of atherosclerosis), you pick out the formula which results in the greatest correlation and hey presto, you have a paper. This would all be harmless fun if it was just used to help identify people who are at risk from atherosclerosis. Unfortunately it goes beyond that and soon enough arrives at the author confusing correlation and causation. Thus, de Lemos says that people should "prevent accumulation of central fat", which implies he thinks there is a causation (i.e. central fat causes atherosclerosis) rather than just the correlation he has found. (And he also adds "early on in their lives", although the amount of "central fat early on their lives" seems not to have entered the study at all.)
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