Love handles may double death risk

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Having love handles, or carrying a muffin top, can double your risk of a premature death, even if you are a normal weight, found a new study.

The survey of nearly 360,000 people across Europe discovered that every extra inch around the waist increases a man's chance of dying early by 9 per cent and a woman's by 7 per cent, no matter how thin you are to begin with.

Every extra 2ins raised the chance of early death by 13 per cent for women and 17 per cent for men.

The study, reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that waist measurement is much better way to predict a person's health and lifespan than the traditional body mass index (BMI).

Researchers found that some people with a normal healthy BMI score, but a larger than average waist, were at significantly higher risk of early death.

A large waist is 47 inches and above for men and 39 inches or larger for women. A small waist is 32 and 26 inches in men and women respectively.

Professor Elio Riboli, from Imperial College London which helped carry out the research, said. 'We were surprised to see the waist size having such a powerful effect on people's health and premature death.

'There aren't many simple individual characteristics that can increase a person's risk of premature death to this extent, independently from smoking and drinking.'

Previous studies have found that abdominal fat – fat around your middle – is more dangerous than fat elsewhere in the body as it may release chemical signals that trigger life-threatening conditions like heart disease and obesity.

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Thursday 13 November 2008

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