Excess Stomach Fat Can Elevate Heart Disease, Cancer Risk

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Heart Disease;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 12 Jul 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Excess Stomach Fat Can Elevate Heart Disease, Cancer Risk

Individuals with excessive abdominal fat have a greater risk of heart disease and cancer than individuals with a similar body mass index (BMI) who carry their fat in other areas of the body, according to a study published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Death and disease risk associated with excess body weight can vary among individuals with similar BMI. Ectopic fat, or fat located where it is not supposed to be, in this case being visible in the abdominal area, could be the cause of this difference in risk. It's widely known that abdominal fat can be more dangerous than fat in other areas, but this study is the first to use CT scan to study specifically located fat depots for direct associations with disease risk.

"Given the worldwide obesity epidemic, identification of high-risk individuals is important, as it allows targeting of preventive and therapeutic measures," said Kathryn A. Britton, MD, MPH, lead author of the study and an instructor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

With this study, researchers sought to find a link between the location of body fat and specific risk factors for heart disease and cancer, which could explain why individuals with different body types and similar BMIs have varied obesity related health conditions.

Researchers assessed ectopic fat in the abdominal area, around the heart tissue and around the aortic artery of 3,086 participants from the Framingham Heart Study and followed the participants for heart disease and cancer for up to seven years. The average age of participants was 50 years and nearly half were women.

Each patient was assessed, using a CT scan to identify areas of fat accumulation. Over the follow-up period, patients were assessed for heart disease, cancer and death risk while adjusting for standard risk factors.

Overall, there were 90 cardiovascular events, 141 cancer cases and 71 deaths. Abdominal fat, which is typically an indicator of fat around internal organs, was associated with incident heart disease and cancer after adjusting for clinical risk factors and general obesity.

"Contrary to previously published studies comparing BMI and waist circumference, the presence of abdominal fat improved the ability to predict for cardiovascular disease, supporting the hypothesis that abdominal fat may partially underlie the association of body fat and heart disease and cancer," said Caroline S. Fox, MD, MPH, senior author on the study and a senior investigator at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Laboratory for Metabolic and Population Health in Framingham, Mass.

Note from the British Heart Foundation about these findings:

Maureen Talbot, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We already know that excess stomach fat increases your risk of developing heart disease but this research confirms there is a greater risk even if you have a normal BMI.

"The dangers of abdominal fat can't be ignored and nor can the importance of measuring waist circumference when it comes to assessing cardiovascular disease risk. You can help keep control of your weight by eating a healthy balanced diet and getting plenty of exercise."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our obesity / weight loss / fitness section for the latest news on this subject.

This work was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study. Dr. Britton was supported by a NHLBI Research Career Development Award.

‘Body Fat Distribution, Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, and All-cause Mortality’, Kathryn A. Britton et al, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, July 2013.

American College of Cardiology

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Belly Fat Tied to Raised Heart and Cancer Risks

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Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 12 Jul 2013 - 3:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Belly Fat Tied to Raised Heart and Cancer Risks

Carrying too much fat around the abdomen puts people at greater risk for heart disease and cancer compared with people who have a similar body mass index (BMI) but who carry their fat in other parts of the body.

So says a US study published online in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Previous studies have shown that the risk of disease and death linked to obesity or being overweight varies among individuals with the same BMI (body mass index - the ratio of their weight in kilos to their height in metres squared).

Now a new study suggests ectopic fat - that is, fat present where it shouldn't be, in this case the highly visible spare tyre(s) around the middle - might explain this variation.

We already know that carrying excess fat around the waist can be more dangerous than carrying it elsewhere, such as the hips or the thighs (apple-shaped as opposed to pear-shaped).

But this latest study, from lead author Kathryn A. Britton, instructor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues, is the first to use CT scans to see which specific deposits of excess fat are linked to disease risk.

The study uses data collected in the Framingham Heart Study from 3,086 participants who were followed for up to seven years. Their average age was 50, and around half were women.

The physical exams the participants underwent at the start of the Framingham study period included CT scans, which allowed the researchers on this study to assess ectopic fat deposits in the abdomen, around the heart and around the aorta, the largest artery in the human body.

Over the follow-up, there were 90 heart-related events, 141 cases of cancer, and 71 deaths (from all causes) among the participants.

When Britton and colleagues analyzed these in relation to the fat deposits, and took out the effect of clinical risk factors and BMI, they found abdominal fat was linked to heart disease and cancer.

This study is the first to show that when you add presence of belly fat to measures that compare BMI to waist size, the ability to predict cardiovascular risk improves.

Although the researchers didn't investigate why fat in the abdomen is tied to higher risk for heart disease and cancer, they conclude their findings support the growing idea that ectopic fat has "a pathogenic role".

One possible explanation could be to do with the fact belly fat often indicates there is too much fat around internal organs.

Britton says findings like these are valuable because, given the worldwide obesity crisis, it is important to identify individuals at high risk so that prevention and therapy can be tailored specifically for them.

Britton's study comes after one published in 2012 in which researchers at the Mayo Clinic found belly fat increases the risk of death even in people of normal weight.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our obesity / weight loss / fitness section for the latest news on this subject. "Body Fat Distribution, Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, and All-cause Mortality"; Britton KA, Massaro JM, Murabito JM, Kreger BE, Hoffmann U, Fox CS; J Am Coll Cardiol, published online July 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2013.06.027; Link to Abstract. Additional source: American College of Cardiology. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Paddock, Catharine. "Belly Fat Tied to Raised Heart and Cancer Risks." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 12 Jul. 2013. Web.
12 Jul. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

posted by Joel Mitchell on 12 Jul 2013 at 12:12 pm

Unfortunately, we are what we eat and America's diet now consists of primary PIG food. We use corn and grains to fatten our livestock and now ourselves. Look in the mirror and on your plate. No wonder.

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'Belly Fat Tied to Raised Heart and Cancer Risks'

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Heart scare cricket boss recovering

11 July 2013 Last updated at 13:05 GMT Geoff Cook has been Durham's head coach since 2007 and has won two county championships Durham County Cricket Club's head coach Geoff Cook has left hospital three weeks after suffering a heart attack.

The 61-year-old former England opening batsman was taken ill at the club's Chester-le-Street ground on 20 June.

Now, after a medical procedure at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, Cook has returned home.

Middlesbrough-born Cook played in seven Tests and six one-day internationals for England in 1982 and 1983, becoming director of cricket at Durham in 1991.

He was named as head coach in 2007, immediately winning the Friends Provident Trophy, and brought the club consecutive county championship titles in 2008 and 2009.

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