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SAN ANTONIO, Mar 05 (Reuters Health) - There is no such thing as a little harmless potbelly in a middle-aged man, scientists reported Friday. Their studies showed that any and all abdominal fat increases the risk of heart disease.
Results of a study of 1,346 Finnish men aged 42 to 60 suggest that waist-to-hip ratio is even more important than obesity alone in terms of increasing risk of heart disease. At the American Heart Association's 41st Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, Dr. Timo A. Lakka of the University of Kuopio, Finland, said that "abdominal fat is metabolically more active than other fat. We know it increases free fatty acid transport to the liver." That action can increase cholesterol, he said.
Dr. Ronald M. Krauss, chair of the American Heart Association's council on nutrition, physical activity and metabolism, said that abdominal fat can also affect blood sugar metabolism and may promote diabetes--itself a risk factor for heart disease.
Just a single measurement--waist circumference--can also be a useful predictor for heart attack risk, the Finnish researcher said. Krauss said the American Heart Association suggests that a 40-inch waist in a man and 35 inches in a woman is a marker for obesity and may be associated with increased risk of heart attack.
"But any weight gain around the middle should be avoided and there should be an attempt to lose that weight," Krauss said. "Losing even a few pounds can reduce the risk for heart attack."
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