Friday, March 11, 2011

Doubts emerge over heart risk to 'apple shape' (UK)

Doubts emerge over heart risk to 'apple shape'"Doubts have been raised over the idea that being overweight and "apple shaped" increases heart attack risk. A study in the Lancet found the risk of heart attack was not increased by fat being concentrated around the waist. It contradicts previous work that found overweight people with "apple shaped" bodies were three times as likely to suffer heart attacks than those with more generally distributed fat. But experts warned obesity was bad for the heart, no matter where the fat was. The authors of the study say that obesity is still a major risk factor for heart disease, but they argue there is confusion about the best way to measure it. One well known measure is the Body Mass Index (BMI) which relates weight to height"

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