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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
August 31, 2022
According to a new study, presented at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona, excess abdominal fat would be very harmful to heart health. Explanations.
Gaining weight is one thing, gaining a few pounds around the waist is another. Indeed, each extra centimeter around your waist would proportionally increase the risk of heart failure. The results of this study were presented at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona, Spain.
430,000 Britons took part in the study
To arrive at this observation, the scientists analyzed the data of 430,000 Britons aged 40 to 70, over 13 years.
During the study, 8669 participants suffered from heart failure (a condition in which the heart is weakened and can no longer pump enough blood to properly feed the body), and some died.
For the researchers, there is no doubt: people with the largest size were 3.21 times more likely to suffer from heart failure.
” Each inch (the equivalent of 2.5 cm, editor’s note) too much around the belly increases the risk of heart failure by 11% they say. ” And the risk of heart attack increases by 4% for each extra centimeter “.
In addition, the heaviest subjects were 2.65 times more likely to develop the disease.
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Abdominal fat contains “many inflammatory factors”
According to the principal researcher, Dr Ayodipupo Oguntade, too large a waist circumference would thus reveal an excess of “visceral fat” and a dysfunction “of the heart and vessels”.
” We know that visceral adipose tissue – the fat that surrounds the organs of the abdomen – is very active and contains many inflammatory factors that can cause cardiovascular disease. “, he assured, during the congress of the European Society of Cardiology, in Barcelona.
Thus, every extra centimeter around the healthy waistline would be linked” at a higher risk of a heart attack » (+11% risk).
In this context, rather than stepping on the scale regularly, the group of scientists recommends measuring your waistline regularly.
Recently, other studies had revealed the causal link between abdominal fat and repeated heart attacks.