London: It`s not just the body mass, the
waist size can also prove dangerous for your heart -- as a new study claimed a bigger belly can increase the risk of dying of cardiac diseases by four-fold.
The 10-year study of 20,000 Dutch men and women found
that patients with a high body mass index (BMI) were four
times more likely to die of heart disease than those of normal
weight, while a waistline that fell into the obese category
increased the risk three-fold.
"What this study shows is the substantial effect which
(being) overweight and obesity have on cardiovascular disease,
whether fatal of non-fatal," said Ineke van Dis from the
Netherlands Heart Foundation, who led the study.
"In the near future the impact of obesity on the
burden of heart disease will be even greater," he said.
According to the researchers, while a healthy waist
circumference for men is defined as less than 37 inches and
for women less than 31.4 inches, more than 40 inches for men
and 34.6 inches for women classed as overweight.
Similarly, a BMI of 30 or more classifies as obese and
between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered healthy, The Telegraph
reported.
The Dutch researchers who examined both BMI and waist
circumference of the subjects of the study aged 20-60 between
1993 and 1997, said their work showed BMI and waist size could
actually help predict the risk of dying from or developing
heart disease.
PTI