Men with “beer bellies” can suffer serious heart damage regardless of weight
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People with “beer bellies” may be at higher risk of heart damage, raising new concerns about the health risks related to extra weight around the midsection.
German researchers found that men with fat deposits around their abdomens showed clear signs of early heart damage, even when their overall weight was not particularly high.
Scientists wanted to better understand whether abdominal fat, which is stored deeply around internal organs, is more harmful to the heart than general body fat.
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Doctors have long suspected that fat distribution, not just total pounds, plays a major role in heart disease. This study tested that idea using cardiac MRIs.
“Abdominal obesity, a high waist-to-hip ratio, is associated with more concerning patterns of cardiac remodeling than high body mass index (BMI) alone,” said the study’s lead author, Jennifer Erley, MD, a radiology resident at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, in a press release.
Men with higher waist-to-hip ratios showed early signs of heart damage even when their overall weight was not very high. (iStock)
The research team examined 2,244 adults ages 46 to 78, none of whom had been diagnosed with heart disease. Each participant underwent high-resolution MRI scans that measured the size, thickness and volume of the heart chambers.
The researchers also collected detailed health information, including weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes history.
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Instead of relying solely on BMI, which can overlook where fat is stored, the team used a waist-to-hip ratio measurement, which compares the circumference of the waist to the hips and determines how much fat is located around the abdomen.
High ratios target visceral fat, which is the deeper, metabolically active fat linked to inflammation and organ stress.
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Men with a higher waist-to-hip ratio showed a pattern of thicker cardiac muscles and a smaller internal chamber volume. That means the heart muscle becomes larger but retains less blood, forcing it to work harder, according to the researchers.
Cardiac MRIs revealed thicker heart walls and smaller chamber volume in people with excess abdominal fat. (iStock)
“[Abdominal obesity] appears to lead to a potentially pathological form of cardiac remodeling,” Erley said.
Based on BMI alone, 69% of men and 56% of women in the study were overweight or obese. However, using the waist-to-hip ratio, 91% of men and 64% of women met the criteria for obesity.
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Overall obesity based on BMI was most frequently associated with enlarged cardiac chambers in all participants. Abdominal obesity was associated with thickening of the cardiac muscle and smaller cardiac chamber volumes.
Over time, these structural changes can lead to heart failure or other cardiovascular problems, the researchers warned.
“[Abdominal obesity] “seems to lead to a potentially pathological form of cardiac remodeling.”
These associations remained strong even after the researchers took into account age, smoking, blood pressure and other risk factors.
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The same trend appeared in women, but the effect was significantly stronger in men. The researchers noted that men tend to store belly fat more easily than women, especially as they age, which may explain the greater impact.
The cardiac effect was stronger in men, probably due to differences in how men and women store fat. (iStock)
The findings help clarify why some people with a normal or moderately high BMI still develop heart disease, while others who weigh more do not. It also suggests that simply stepping on a scale may not capture the full picture of heart risk.
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The study had some limitations, primarily that it was an observational design, meaning it identified patterns but could not prove direct causality.
Additionally, the researchers did not follow the participants long enough to see who eventually developed heart disease, they acknowledged.
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And the waist-to-hip ratio, while useful, is a simplified measure that doesn’t capture all variations in body composition.
The findings will be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.
Khloe Quill is a lifestyle production assistant at News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a range of topics including food and drink, travel and health.