HEALTH CHECK YOUR WAISTLINE!: Belly fat--not BMI--is a killer for patients with clogged arteries - latimes.com

Belly fat--not BMI--is a killer for patients with clogged arteries - latimes.com: "For people with coronary artery disease, including those with a 'normal, healthy' body-mass index (or BMI), having even a little flubber around the middle is a bad omen, increasing the risk of death as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day or having very high cholesterol. But having a BMI in the 'overweight' or 'obese' category does not, by itself, imply a grim prognosis, says a new study.

The new research, published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, makes clear that when it comes to body composition, it is better to be pear-shaped--carrying fat deposits in the hips, buttocks and thighs--than to be shaped like an apple, carrying excess fat around the middle. And it makes clear that for a patient with clogged or obstructed coronary arteries, a large waist circumference and high waist-to-hip ratio are better prognosticators of death than is his or her BMI, which is a poor measure. "

......But those whose BMIs are between 25 and 29.9 (overweight) and above 30 (obese) are at high risk, too, if their midsections are larded with extra fat. A waist circumference above 35 inches for women and 40 for men is considered dangerous, and gets more dangerous with every added inch. Figuring out the waist to hip ratio requires a tape measure and the back of an envelope (ideally, it should be no more than 0.8 for women and 0.95 for men), but here's a calculator to check that too. (PLS CLICK WEBSITE FOR MORE IFO)