The abdominal fat distribution predicts the risk of cancer.

Abdominal obesity is a factor that causes high-risk heart disease. According to a study published in Circulation, the Journal of the American Heart Association, it is more effective to test the waist and hip area than just to the waist in predicting the risk of heart disease in the herd. He and women.

The researchers were also interested in the relationship between the distribution of fat on the risk of heart disease independent of body mass index (BMI). This index can assess the body's weight in a balanced to high range, as well as other heart disease risks such as blood pressure and high blood fat.

Mr. Dexter Canoy, a master of research - PhD and editor of research with colleagues in public health and epidemiology at the University of Manchester, UK, said: 'Hip size plays a role guard. In other words, the big waist that comes with the same big hips is not worrisome with the big waist but the hips are small. '

The study was conducted with 24,508 men and women aged 45 to 79 in the United Kingdom. These people have participated in Euro Prospective Investigation (temporarily referred to as Europe's Future Investment Program) for cancer research (EPIC - Norfolk), organized at Cambridge University in England. . Participants measured the weight, height, waist circumference, hips and were tested for heart disease risk from 1993 to 1997. They continued to be monitored for more than 9 years.

During the follow-up period, 1,708 men and 892 women had coronary heart disease. Participants, both male and female, are divided into 5 groups based on waist-hip ratio. Researchers found that people with the highest waist-hip ratio had the highest risk of heart disease. Here are the results of this study:

(Artwork: iStockphoto / Jennifer Sheets)

- Men who are on the top of the list of people who have one-fifth of the waist (who have the largest waist circumference) have a 55% higher risk of developing heart disease than those at the end of the list. This book (the smallest waist compared to the hip).

- Women at the top of the list of people with a waist-to-hip ratio of 1/5 have a 91% higher risk of heart disease than women with the smallest waist size compared to their hips.

- If only waist circumference was measured, the risk of heart disease was reduced by 10-18% compared to the figure when applying waist measurement when comparing with the hip ring (waist-hip ratio).

- If you only measure your waist, your body and coronary vascular pathology are considered. The hip circumference increased to 6.4 cm in men and 9.2 cm in women reduced the risk of heart disease by 20%.

Canoy said the results of the study will be very helpful in predicting the risk of disease for relatively healthy men and women in the community. More research is needed to determine whether fat distribution is an independent factor that causes heart disease in people with chronic diseases and some other border diseases.

People with high levels of fat in the abdomen have a higher risk of heart disease but they do not appear overweight or obese . However, the most important message from this study and other studies on the risk of heart disease are: Although there are different methods of risk assessment and treatment, but the important thing we need must reduce excess weight. Doctors should start by examining the weight, height and waist circumference as well as the body index to diagnose heart disease. A simple waist-hip ratio can also be a great predictor of the disease.

The EPIC-Norfolk study is funded by the Cancer Research UK, Medical Research Council, Stroke Association, British Heart Foundation, Department of Health, the European Against Cancer Program, the European Union, the Food Standards Agency and the Wellcome Trust. The support of Canoy in this study was provided by the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust / Cambridge Overseas Trust and the University of Christ.

Conducting collaborations from Cambridge University. Co-author: S. Matthijs Boekholdt, MD, Ph.D .; Nicholas Wareham, MBBS, FRCP; Robert Luben, B.Sc .; Ailsa Welch, Ph.D .; Sheila Bingham, Ph.D .; Iain Buchan, MD, FFPH; Nicholas Day, Ph.D., FRS; and Kay-Tee Khaw, MBBChir., FRCP.