Waist Fat Risk

Fat around waist may increase risk of death in patients with coronary artery disease.
The Los Angeles Times (5/2, Healy) "Booster Shots" blog reported that, "for people with coronary artery disease, including those with a 'normal, healthy' body-mass index (or BMI), having even a little flubber around the middle is a bad omen, increasing the risk of death as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day or having very high cholesterol," according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The researchers found that "having a BMI in the 'overweight' or 'obese' category does not, by itself, imply a grim prognosis."
The Wall Street Journal (5/3, Winslow, Subscription Publication) reports that, according to Michael Lauer, director of cardiovascular sciences at the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, "Fat is not created equal and where fat is located makes a difference."
CNN /Health.com (5/3, Harding) reports that "the paradox appears to be explained by the simple fact that BMI is a very flawed measure of heart risk. Waist size provides a far more accurate way to predict a heart patient's chances of dying at an early age from a heart attack or other causes, the study found."
MedPage Today (5/2, Smith) reported that "the findings could have important clinical implications, the researchers argued, because it's generally accepted that if body mass index is normal, 'no further measures of obesity are necessary, and no lifestyle modifications to induce weight loss might be recommended.'"