Belly fat can be deadly

People who carry fat around their bellies have a greater mortality risk, even if they are thin, than those who are overweight but have normal fat distribution, a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine said.

Researchers examined data from a large group of Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) participants to compare the total and cardio-vascular mortality risks with different combinations of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratios (WHR).

style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">They found that normal-weight adults with central obesity have the worst long—term survival rate compared with any group, regardless of BMI.

The data showed that a normal-weight person with central obesity had twice the mortality risk of participants who were overweight or obese according to BMI only.