London, Nov. 4 (AP): Well-toned hips and a trim waist appear to be the best protection against heart attacks, according to a multinational study published on Friday.
Researchers reported in this week's issue of The Lancet medical journal that the ratio of hip circumference to waist measurement is a better predictor of the risk of heart attack than is body mass index, or BMI.
"This study shows that measuring waist-to-hip ratio is three times more effective at predicting the risk of heart attack than the traditional BMI measurement (height versus weight).
"This clearly will be a better way of identifying people at risk and helping avoid a heart attack," said Dr Charmaine Griffiths of the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the research.
"People with a higher waist-to-hip ratio are more likely to become heart attack victims. This is why it is so important to maintain a healthy weight by taking regular exercise and eating a balanced diet," Griffiths said.
The INTERHEART study, directed by Dr Salim Yusuf of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, drew on data from 27,098 people in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, including 12,461 who had suffered a heart attack.
Body mass index, based on weight and height, takes no notice of where fat is or how muscular a person is, said Dr Arya Sharma, professor of medicine at McMaster University and co-author of the study. An athlete and a couch potato could have similar BMI scores, he noted.
source:
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus...0511041011.htm
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