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Pot Belly Is A Better Risk Predictor Of Heart Attack Than BMI
Abdominal obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. A potbelly indicates that the risk of a heart attack is more even if the rest of the body is skinny as a beanpole.

This new study suggests that the key predictor of risk is the relationship of waist size to the hips, an elevated waist-to-hip ratio predicts an increased risk of heart attack. The study implies that even people who would otherwise be considered safe going by their body-mass index, are found to be at risk using waist-to-hip ratio.

A skinny person with a pot belly would have a low body mass index (BMI) and eventually be classified as having a low risk of heart attack. The researchers insist, it's really the ratio between the measurement around the belly and the circumference of the hips that relates extent of risk.

If the ratio of waist-to-hip is high, then irrespective of the BMI, the risk of having a heart attack is more, according to Arya Sharma, M.D., and Salim Yusuf, M.D., of McMaster University.

"If you have more of a waist line than a hip line, then you're at risk," Dr. Sharma said in an interview. Sharma is the director of the Canadian Obesity Network.
Obesity and Disease