Waist Size Predicts Heart Failure
The main reason people over 65 wind up in the hospital is heart failure, also known as "congestive heart failure". And the very best predictor of whether or not you're likely to get heart failure might surprise you.
It's waist size.
A new study published in the journal Circulation tracked data from two Swedish population based studies that together included 80,000 men and women aged 45-83. All participants filled in questionnaires about their height, weight, waist circumference and other vital statistics. They were then followed for seven years.
The researchers found- not surprisingly- that weight was linked to risk for heart failure. But they also found that even within the normal weight range (BMI 25 or less), those who had an extra 10cm (about 4 inches) on their waist had about 15% higher risk of heart failure. This went up to 18% for those who were heavier (BMI of 30 or more).
The researchers measured waist size, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ration and BMI (body mass index). All four measures were associated with heart disease, but waist circumference alone predicted heart disease risk regardless of other measures.
I've written before about the importance of waist size and of the waist-to-hip ratio. Nutritionists and smart doctors have long known that 35" for women and 40" for men represent a danger point for insulin resistance (which is the cornerstone of Metabolic Syndrome, also known as pre-diabetes). Metabolic Syndrome significantly increases the risk for heart disease.
If your waist is over 35" (women) or 40" (men) it's time to start doing something. I've found that a low-carb diet is one of the most effective ways to combat belly fat and reduce the size of your waist.
Labels: belly, fat, heart disease, low-carb diet, study, waist size
Jonny Bowden, PhD, C.N.S. is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health and is the author of several best-selling books.
Could you please give a link to the actual study? Like a link to an abstract on Pubmed or something?
Now I still have some questions like: Was physical condition measured? Wat were the other vital statistics? I remember you citing a study that showed that fat people who were fit had just as much risk of heart failure and other threatning deceases as lean people that were fit.
http://www.eatdrinkordie.com/videos/1f3fa6403e/fat-and-fit-daily-nutrition-from-jonny-bowden-nutritionist
It now seems that waist size is the single most important risk factor for heart failure, but this is very easily said if the study did not measure other factor that don't have anything to do with weight, waist size or fatness.
I wish I could make better comments, but I was not able to find the study on the internet.
For the rest, I think you articles are great!
Could you please give a link to the actual study? Like a link to an abstract on Pubmed or something?
Now I still have some questions like: Was physical condition measured? Wat were the other vital statistics? I remember you citing a study that showed that fat people who were fit had just as much risk of heart failure and other threatning deceases as lean people that were fit.
http://www.eatdrinkordie.com/videos/1f3fa6403e/fat-and-fit-daily-nutrition-from-jonny-bowden-nutritionist
It now seems that waist size is the single most important risk factor for heart failure, but this is very easily said if the study did not measure other factor that don't have anything to do with weight, waist size or fatness.
I wish I could make better comments, but I was not able to find the study on the internet.
For the rest, I think you articles are great!
Sure! here's the summary from medical news, and by searching the authors you can find it on pub med also- in addition, the med news story has a source listing at the bottom:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145660.php
in general, ALL of these studies statistically correct for other variables so they are able to see exactly what effect the variable under investigation (in this case waist size) has- the technique is called "analysis of variance"\
warmly
jb
Thank you for the summary, but I still was not able to find it at Pubmed. I also googled it, but still couldn't find it.
Correct me if I am wrong, but does the study really say that in 7 years about 0,017% of the men at an age of 45 to 79 fell victim to heart failure and only 0,001% actually died from it? That does not sound as such a high risk to me. It would mean that in a group of men from 45 to 79 around 99,999% will NOT die from heart failure in the next 7 years. I would say 45-79 years old is a high risk group.
Is it even worth the effort to lose waist size only for the lowering of supposed health risks?
Wouldn't simply focussing on benefits like improved mobility, physical condition, sex life and appearance motivate people more that scaring them with health risks?
Thanks again for the summary.
you bring up an excellent point, one which plagues ALL studies that use "relative risk" percentages. For example, when they advertise LIPITOR they tell you that there is a 33 percent reduction in risk for heart attacks! WOW! that's a lot! until you look at the absolute data and find that instead of 3 people in 500 getting a heart attack, only 2 get it. (And only in a very specific population!)
So you are right, the absolute numbers aren't particularly frightening. But fact is a waist size of over 35 (women) 40(men) has been found to be associated with a number of not-so-great health issues, like insulin resistance (which can be a harborer of diabetes), etc.
You might also be right that concentrating on things people can feel and see and do RIGHT NOW (improved mobility, sex life, etc) is probably a way better motivator than some distant health risk. That's probably true for a lot of things!
great comments, thank you for them\
warmly
jb
Johnny,
I am a middle-aged woman and I am afraid I am never going to get back my waistline without becoming underweight. At 50 (I'm now 54), I starting gaining weight and it all went to my waist and stomach (although those were not previously problem areas when I experienced weight gain in the past).
For the last 6 1/2 months, I have been on a diet and now I am within 10 pounds of a weight which was always a good slim weight for me in the past. But here's the kicker - within 2 months of starting the diet, the tailor measured my waist for alterations and it was 35". Today, again I went to the tailor and was measured for alterations, and even though I have lost quite a bit of weight in the last 4 months, my waist size is still 35."
I don't know what to do other than to try to starve myself down below a weight that was always a good and healthy weight for me when I was in my 20's-40's.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home