A major European study called EUROASPIRE V found that nearly two-thirds of people with a high risk of cardiovascular disease had excess belly fat.
The current research
The study, which surveyed people to determine the prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, found that:
• 64% had “central obesity,” a term used to describe excess belly fat
• 37% were overweight
• 18% were smokers
• only 36% were exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week
• Only 43% of people using lipid-lowering medication had reached the LDL cholesterol target (under 2.5 millimoles per liter).
• Only 47% of people taking high blood pressure meds were achieving their target (under 140/90 millimeters of mercury or under 140/85 if they had diabetes).
• Only 65% of people receiving treatment for type 2 diabetes had attained their target blood sugar (under 7.0% HbA1c).
• Many people with high cholesterol or high blood pressure weren’t getting treatment.
The study included 78 primary care practices from 16 countries, mostly in Europe.
Previous research
A previous study, which was presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in April 2018, found that excels belly fat is bad for the heart, even for people whose BMI is normal.
At that presentation, the researchers urged doctors not to assume that having a normal BMI means there is no heart-related issue. They advised general practitioners to measure central obesity, not just BMI, becauseBMI doesn’t necessarily indicate normal fat distribution.
EUROASPIRE Steering Committee Chair Kornelia Kotseva points out, “A large proportion of individuals at high risk cardiovascular disease have unhealthy lifestyle habits and uncontrolled blood pressure, lipids and diabetes. In our study, many participants with high blood pressure and cholesterol were not being treated. These data make it clear that more efforts must be made to improve cardiovascular prevention in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease.”
