A person's waist size may reveal more about their heart health than the number on the scale, according to new research.
A study found that waist measurements can identify potential cardiovascular risks that may be missed when doctors rely on body mass index (BMI) alone.
Researchers from the Cross-Cohort Collaboration analyzed data from nearly 260,000 adults enrolled in 15 long-term health studies, following participants for about 20 years.
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The findings, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, showed that some people considered a normal weight based on BMI still carried higher levels of fat around their midsection.
Among participants in the normal and overweight BMI ranges, those with larger waist measurements or higher waist-to-hip ratios generally faced a 15% to 50% greater risk of several heart-related problems and death during the study period, according to the study.
The results suggest that looking at how weight is distributed across the body may provide a more complete picture than BMI alone.
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"BMI only tells us weight relative to height, it doesn't tell us where fat is stored, and that matters," Erin Palinski-Wade, a New Jersey-based registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator and author of the book "The Sleepdemic Solution," told Fox News Digital.
Fat carried around the abdomen can pose different health concerns than fat stored elsewhere on the body, said Palinski-Wade, who was not involved in the study.
"Where you carry fat matters more than how much you carry, because visceral fat, the fat wrapped around abdominal organs, is metabolically active tissue that drives inflammation, insulin resistance, and artery damage in a way that fat under the skin elsewhere on the body doesn't," she said.
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Palinski-Wade said the research highlights why BMI alone may not provide a complete picture of a person's heart health.
"BMI doesn't tell the whole story, where you carry fat may matter more than the number on the scale," she said.
Researchers examined several health outcomes over the course of the study, including heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and cardiovascular-related deaths.
In addition, the researchers noted several limitations of the study, including that they did not have information on participants' physical activity, diets or genetic risk for obesity, all of which can play a role in cardiovascular disease.
The study also measured waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio only once, limiting researchers' ability to determine how changes in abdominal fat over time may affect heart disease risk.