Even Normal Weight People Have Highest Death Risk With Belly Fat

Cardiovascular

Even Normal Weight People Have Highest Death Risk With Belly Fat

By
Dana Sparks

August 27, 2012

People who are of normal weight but have fat concentrated in their bellies have a higher death risk than those who are obese. The Mayo Clinic study shows those who had a normal body mass index but central obesity (high waist-to-hip ratio) had the highest cardiovascular death risk and the highest death risk from all causes.

Cardiologist and senior author Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., says,“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.”

Read entire news release: Central Obesity

The study is being presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich.