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When it comes to assessing your risk of heart disease, your doctor has probably already discussed with you some of the most important numbers you need to know. In fact, your primary doctor probably has spent a good amount of time during each annual physical going over your numbers with you.
Those usual heart disease risk factor suspects include your blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and weight. But did you know there’s another number that’s just as important in determining your risk of heart disease?
Grab a measuring tape, because that number is the size of your waist.
Weight, and more specifically obesity, has always been a risk factor for heart disease. For this risk factor, your doctor most likely calculates your body mass index (BMI) to determine if you’re overweight or obese. BMI is calculated from your height and weight and is an estimate of body fat. It is generally a useful measure of your risk for disease that can occur with more body fat.
Typically, the higher your BMI is, the higher your risk of heart disease and other diseases is. However, BMI does have limitations. BMI does not make a distinction between the weight of fat and the weight of muscle. For instance, it may overestimate body fat in athletes or those who have a muscular build. (I keep telling myself that this is my issue.) Or it may underestimate body fat in an older person or someone who has lost muscle.
That’s where your waist size can come into play when determining your risk of heart disease.
Measuring the circumference of your waist helps screen for possible health risks that come with being overweight or obese. If most of your fat is around your waist, you’re at a higher risk for heart disease.
But why ? Because the fat around the midsection acts differently than fat does on the thighs or bottom.
We used to think that all fat tissue was neutral. However, studies have found this isn’t the case – fat creates substances that can cause or stimulate the processes that cause hardening and narrowing of the arteries. Some of these “inflammatory mediators” are really bad actors and we think that some of the helpful effects of heart medicines are from combating their nasty effects.
Belly fat also tends to be a sign of visceral fat, which is fat that gathers around the organs in your abdomen. Studies have found that this type of fat tends to promote insulin resistance, unhealthy cholesterol levels and might also boost inflammation.
If you’re trying to determine if your waist size will have an impact on your heart health, here’s what you need to aim for. According to the American Heart Association, women should have a waist size smaller than 35 inches and men’s waists should be smaller than 40 inches (Hint: Don’t just go by the waist size of your pants). Your risk of heart disease increases if your measurements are larger than that. It doesn’t help to “suck it in” either, we’re talking about real waist measurements at rest! (I know, I’ve tried.)
Want to guarantee you’re measuring correctly? Stand and place a measuring tape around your middle, just above your hipbones. Make sure you clock your waist measurement just after you exhale.
Hear it comes again…eat right, don’t smoke, exercise, take your meds, stay in touch with your medical team and buy smaller pants but you do have to actually fit into them.