Bigger the Belly, the Bigger the Risk

The Wall Street Journal reports:

A new study offers fresh evidence that belly fat is the chief culprit in the link between obesity and cardiovascular disease.

The report also raises the possibility that people can be overweight without significantly raising their heart risk, so long as they carry the extra fat in places other than their belly. In fact, a few extra pounds may even lower the risk of death from heart disease, researchers found.

Previous medical studies have also pointed to a possible protective effect of being overweight—a phenomenon that has been called the "obesity paradox." Such findings have caused some doctors and patients to wonder whether being obese or overweight is that big a deal in managing heart risk.

But the new study suggests the issue isn't about the dangers of obesity, but rather the limitations of the tool called body mass index, or BMI, that is typically used to measure it.

No real surprise here. Many pro athletes have high BMI's but small waists because they are muscular.