New Delhi: A new study in The Lancet Regional Health–Americas reveals that the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) predicts heart disease risk more accurately than the traditional Body Mass Index (BMI).
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh tracked 2,721 adults for over five years. Their aim was to understand the link between body measurements and heart health. They found that higher BMI, waist circumference, and WHtR all correlated with a greater risk of heart disease. However, after adjusting for factors like age, sex, smoking, exercise, diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol, only WHtR continued to predict cardiovascular problems.
Lead author Thiago Bosco Mendes explained that BMI fails to show how fat is distributed. It also does not differentiate between harmful visceral fat and protective subcutaneous fat. WHtR, by dividing waist circumference by height, directly measures abdominal fat. This is the type most associated with heart disease.
People with a BMI below 30 but a WHtR above 0.5 still face a higher risk of coronary artery calcification. This is an early marker of heart disease. These individuals might look healthy but still carry hidden cardiovascular risks.
Senior author Marcio Bittencourt noted that using WHtR as a screening tool helps identify at-risk individuals earlier. “It’s a simple and effective method to detect heart disease risk even when weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure appear normal,” he said.
The study urges clinicians and the public to rely more on waist-to-height ratio for assessing cardiovascular risk rather than BMI.
–IANS
