hood can increase your risk of heart disease. In long-term investigations, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study found that middle-aged women and men who had gained between 11 and 22 pounds after age 20 were up to three times more likely to develop heart disease than those who’d gained 5 pounds or less. Achieving a healthy body weight is key to reducing your risk of heart disease. So, how much should you weigh? One way to determine this is to use the body mass index (BMI), which takes both your weight and height into consideration. To figure out your BMI, measure your height and weight. Then look at the BMI values listed in Table 3.
lowing five characteristics has metabolic syndrome: • abdominal obesity (waist circumference greater than 35 inches in women, or 40 inches in men) • high triglycerides (150 mg/dL or more) • low HDL (less than 50 mg/dL for women and 40 mg/dL for men) • high blood pressure (130/85 mm Hg or higher)
Figure 1 Apples and pears
• If your BMI is between 19 and 24, congratulations! That’s a healthy weight. The challenge, of course, is to keep it at that number.
Waist measurement
• If your BMI is 25 or above, try not to gain any more weight, and lose some if possible.
Hip measurement
• If your BMI is below 19, you may be too thin. Some people with serious illnesses such as emphysema, cancer, or heart failure can become extremely thin. If you begin to lose weight rapidly, check with a doctor. Another measure of your heart disease risk is waist size (see “Metabolic syndrome,” below). Carrying a “spare tire” around your middle—also known as the “apple” shape—can be more dangerous than carrying fat around your hips and thighs, known as the “pear” shape (see Figure 1). In fact, numerous studies reveal that the waist-to-hip ratio, which compares the size of the abdomen to the hips, is a stronger predictor of heart disease than BMI. In general, women whose waistlines are greater than 35 inches and men whose waistlines are greater than 40 inches should make an effort to lose weight—and inches. While the tendency to be apple-shaped as opposed to pear-shaped is partly a matter of heredity, adding pounds also adds girth, so losing weight will reduce your waistline.
Metabolic syndrome Today, more and more Americans are being diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that promote heart disease. Anyone with three of the folwww.h e a l t h . h a r v a r d . e d u
©Harriet Greenfield
The waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is one way to estimate how much weight a person is carrying around the abdomen versus around the hips. Men and women with a higher WHR (resembling an apple shape) have a higher risk for heart attack and stroke than men and women with a lower WHR (resembling a pear shape). To determine your WHR: 1. With your abdomen relaxed, measure your waist at its narrowest (usually at the navel). 2. Measure your hips at the widest point (usually at the bony prominence). 3. Divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement to determine the WHR. A healthy WHR for women is 0.8 or less (and a waist measurement of 35 inches or less), and a healthy WHR for men is 1.0 or less (and a waist measurement of 40 inches or less). Healthy Eating for a Healthy Heart
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