Researchers at McMaster University near Toronto, Canada, have found that the best predictor of cardiovascular disease is not Body Mass Index (BMI), the commonly used ratio of weight to height; but, instead, the waist-to-hip ratio - simply your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement. The researchers analyzed data from the Interheart study of people in 52 Countries; comparing 12,461 people who had suffered a heart attack with 14,637 people free of heart disease.
A person, for example, with 36" Waist and a 40" hip measurement would have a waist -to-hip ratio of 0.9.
Having a waist-to-hip ratio of over 0.85 for women and over 0.9 for men indicates greater risk for heart disease.
The risk increases continuously with higher waist-to-hip ratios. Those in the highest fifth of people studied were 2.52 times more likely to have a heart attack than those in the lowest fifth.
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