Body Mass Index: Not Enough to Understand Heart Disease

Body Mass Index: Not Enough to Understand Heart Disease

Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers that BMI estimates body fat and a good gauge for diseases that can occur with more body fat. As BMI rises, so does the risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, gallstones, and other health problems.

Is BMI a perfect indicator for determining your risk for heart disease? No. For example, it may be an overestimate if you are an athlete or have a muscular build. On the other hand, BMI can underestimate body fat in older individuals and in others who have lost muscle.

A better approach is to assess health risk by combining three key elements, including 1) BMI, 2) waist circumference, and 3) risk factors for conditions associated with obesity. This brings us to a new statement from the American Heart Association published last month in the organization’s flagship journal, Circulation.

The most recent research informs the new scientific statement on the relationship between obesity and coronary heart disease, heart failure, and abnormal heart rhythms. We are getting a better understanding of obesity and its impact on cardiovascular health. There is an increasing focus on abdominal obesity (visceral adipose tissue is the technical term) as a cardiovascular disease risk marker.

In essence, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is the ratio of waist circumference to height (taking body size into account). One may also use the waist-to-hip ratio, as it has been shown to predict cardiovascular death independent of body mass index.