WEDNESDAY, Nov. 12, 2008 (Health.com) — Everyone knows that being overweight increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer, but new research reveals that even normal-weight people aren’t scot-free. A European study suggests that people with belly fat—even if they’re at a healthy weight—have a higher risk of dying during a 10-year period than their same-weight peers without a spare tire. The report was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“I was surprised that even people who would be considered normal weight in terms of their [body mass index] have a higher risk of death if their waist circumference is increased,” says Tobias Pischon, MD, the study’s lead author and a member of the department of epidemiology at the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE).
In one of the largest long-term prospective studies in the world, a team of researchers at the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition analyzed 359,387 people ages 25 to 70 from nine European countries.
The researchers found that those with a higher body mass index (BMI) were at a greater risk of dying during the 10-year study than normal-weight people.
But when they looked at waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio alone—not just overall weight—they found that those factors were strongly associated with a higher mortality risk too. A 2-inch increase in waist circumference raised the mortality risk by 17% in men and 13% in women, regardless of BMI. The link was strongest in those who were at a healthy weight, compared to their heavier peers.
Men with the biggest girths (about 40.4 inches or more) were 2.05 times more likely to die during the study than men with waists that were less than 33.9 inches. Women with waists 35 inches or larger had a mortality risk 1.78 times higher than those with waists less than 27.6 inches.
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Comments (3)
i am not able to reduce my stomach and that’s my problem
what can reduce flab . belly hangs down
I have your online articles and based on my own test on myself with some of things you said to go with some food dietians I had spoken with some of things you state I do not agree with. Such as not chewing gum. It is the saliva and the swallowing and not eating more than three times a day (unless they are 6 smalls meals) is how gum helps ones digestive system and overall little by little lose weight.
Also please assist me that of how does a person get their belly flat as possible. I take advair asthma medicine which aids my asthma. I know there are some steriod medications of some type in many asthma medicines so there is a potential of growth to anyones area including stomanch, chest etc.
I would like to know what food/drinks, excercise I can do to flatten my belly and keep flat for life. I am 50 years old and have an average built body with good blood pressure, no blood clots. I do work out and do eat right at least 80% of the time.
Look forward to your speedy but acurate reply.
Thanks, JJ