NEW DELHI: While obesity is a known risk factor for heart disease, a new study showed that the ratio of a person's waist measurement compared to their height is more reliable than body mass index (BMI) at predicting the risk.
The finding, published in The Lancet Regional Health-Americas, could reshape how clinicians and the public assess cardiovascular risk, especially for people who don't meet the classic definition of obesity.
"Higher BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio at baseline were all associated with higher risk of developing future cardiovascular disease -- until we adjusted for other classic risk factors, such as age, sex, smoking, exercise, diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol, " said lead author Thiago Bosco Mendes, from the University of Pittsburgh, US