Waistline vs. BMI: Which Has Greater Effect on Mortality?

Central obesity in individuals with normal body mass index (BMI) is associated with higher mortality rates that seen in those with BMI-defined obesity, according to a recent study.

While the relationship between obesity and adverse health outcomes has been well established, the effects of central obesity in adults with normal BMI are less well known.
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To examine this relationship, researchers conducted a study of 15184 adults between the ages of 18 and 90 years.

Overall, they found that participants with normal-weight central obesity had the worst long-term survival rates of any of the adults examined, with double the mortality risk of those seen in participants who were overweight in the conventional sense.

“Normal-weight central obesity defined by waist-to-hip ratio is associated with higher mortality than BMI-defined obesity, particularly in the absence of central fat distribution,” they concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Sahakyan KR, Somers VK, Rodriguez-Escudero JP, et al. Normal-weight central obesity: implications for total and cardiovascular mortality. Ann Intern Med. November 10, 2015 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.7326/M14-2525.