BlogMed

Excessive Abdominal Obesity Is a Strong Predictor of Heart Disease and Diabetes

December 9th, 2007 | by David Reiner, M.D. |

                                                                                                                                                                    

                                             

There is a worldwide increase in the incidence of diabetes and this is largely related to the growing epidemic of obesity.  Overall increases in body weight  increase the liklihood of developing many disease states such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and tryiglycerides, increased tendency for the blood to clot, elevated inflammatory markers(such as cRP levels) and heart disease. 

A specific type of body fat distribution known as visceral adipose tissue accumulation(fat cells within the abdominal cavity that surround vital organs there) has been found to be an even stronger predictor of developing heart disease and heart attacks.  The risk of heart disease seems to be substantially increased in the presence of an elevated waist circumference and elevated triglyceride levels, largely because it correlates strongly with this visceral adipose tissue accumulation.  Therefore, from a risk assessment standpoint, the simple measurement of waist size and triglyceride levels is a reasonable first step approach to identify a high risk group of individuals at risk of this metabolic syndrome.  Moreover, moderate weight loss in individuals with the largely abdominal obesity pattern results in selective mobilization of significant amounts of this visceral adipose tissue accumulation, leading to marked improvements in one’s risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Reference: Lemieux I et al., Canadian Journal of Cardiology 2007 Oct;23 Suppl B;23B-31B.

Tags: heart disease, Obesity, triglycerides, visceral fat