Abdominal fat predicts heart disease risk better than BMI

A study of over 260,000 people shows that waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio are better predictors of cardiovascular disease risk than BMI alone, as BMI cannot account for where body fat is distributed. Individuals with normal or overweight BMI but high abdominal fat had 15-50% greater risk for heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and other cardiovascular outcomes, while some obese individuals with low abdominal fat had comparable risk to normal-weight individuals.