An important warning on why you should lose the stomach fat. Carrying that spare tire about the middle brings more than strain to your waistband and the discomfort of extra weight; a new study concludes that it also raises the chances of devastating sudden cardiac death.
What's more, a bigger waist to hip ratio is more important than BMI when assessing the risk of death from a sudden cardiac "event" according to study researchers.
This new work shows that carrying fat around the stomach is a risk factor in sudden cardiac death, despite accounting for other risks like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. This research, while promising, does not prove cause and effect - pot bellies on their own do not cause sudden cardiac death
For this study, the team examined the medical records of over 15,000 people who were an average 54 years old and came from four different U.S. locations and who were part of a study on atherosclerosis risk. Over the next 13 years, over 300 participants had a sudden cardiac death.
After accounting for age, gender, race, education level, smoking status as well as family history on heart issues, the team saw that BMI, waist circumference and hip to waist ratio were all linked to sudden cardiac death.
Taking things one step further by factoring in conditions that occur with this - things like diabetes, hypertension, heart failure and high LDL (bad) cholesterol, the team saw that waist to hip ratio was most closely associated to sudden cardiac death.
Having that so called "apple" shape appears to bring higher risks than the "pear" shaped body, though no one is sure why. It may be that fat stored in the abdomen sends out inflammatory substances, and doctors know that inflammation is linked to heart problems. We do know that a high waist to hip ratio is linked to diabetes and hypertension, now it appears to be associated to sudden cardiac death as well.
Tragically, sudden cardiac death takes over 250,000 lives in the U.S. every year. This term is used for any death that happens within 60 minutes of the first symptoms, survival depending on being treated with a defibrillator within minutes. Risk factors for this outcome include, among others, coronary heart disease, heart rhythm issues as well as obesity. Sudden cardiac death is not a heart attack, and can happen to those who have heart disease or a person who seems perfectly healthy without known heart disease or other risk factors.
Having a waist to hip ratio over 0.8 for females, 0.95 for males is thought to be unhealthy. Today we also know that over 60% of adults (one third of kids) are considered either overweight or obese. To improve those numbers and lose the stomach fat, the basics - a healthy, balanced diet and lots of regular exercise - are the key to getting your own measurements into the healthy range.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kirsten_Whittaker
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