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Women: watch your waistline!


Gloria Spencer
07/15/2005

Two-thirds of women who die suddenly of cardiovascular disease have no previous recognized symptoms. Therefore, science is making great efforts to find effective indicators of cardiovascular risk that could facilitate timely referral and medical assistance.

A recent publication by the American Heart Association, has shown that an enlarged waist and high triglycerides may be two out of three important factors to characterize the metabolic syndrome (MS), according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). The third factor could be either elevated blood pressure, low HDL “good” cholesterol, or impaired fasting blood glucose.

The research, directed by Laszlo Tanko, M.D., Ph.D., a senior research physician at the Center for Clinical and Basic Research in Ballerup, Denmark, declares that  a woman with an enlarged waist ( a waist circumference of at least 88 centimeters or 35.2 inches) and a triglyceride level of at least 128 milligrams per deciliter, ) is very likely to have a kind of “apple shape”, with predominant upper body fat accumulation and relatively under-developed lower body fat accumulation. 

“We believe that obesity poses a cardiovascular and stroke risk in these women who, for some reasons, deposit extra pounds centrally in the intra-abdominal compartment, and do not follow the pattern of depositing primarily to the peripheral fat depots – hips, thighs, buttocks – as most women do,” the study says.

The research concludes by saying: “Although it sounds simple and repetitive, we believe that a diet and exercise-induced weight loss is the most effective way of eliminating the source of the problem”. Luckily, upper-body fat mass responds relatively rapidly to diet and exercise changes.  The challenge is to maintain these achieved benefits and obtain lasting prevention.