Men with ‘beer bellies’ may face serious heart damage regardless of weight

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People with “beer bellies” may have an increased risk ofheart damage, raising fresh concerns about the health risks tied to extra weight around the midsection.

German researchers found that men with fat deposits around the abdomen showed clear signs of early heart damage, even when their overall weight wasn’t especially high.

Scientists wanted to better understand whether abdominal fat — the kind stored deep 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 inheart disease.This study tested that idea using cardiac MRI scans.

“Abdominal obesity, a high waist-to-hip ratio, is associated with more concerning cardiac remodeling patterns than high body mass index (BMI) alone,” said study lead author Jennifer Erley, M.D., radiology resident at 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 wasn’t very high.(iStock)

The research team examined 2,244 adults between the ages of 46 and 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’s chambers.

Researchers also collected detailed health information, including weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking status anddiabetes history.

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Instead of relying solely on BMI, which can miss wherefat is stored, the team used a measurement of waist-to-hip ratio, which compares the circumference of the waist to the hips and determines how much fat sits around the abdomen.

High ratios point to visceral fat, which is the deeper, metabolically active fat linked to inflammation and organ stress.

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Men with higher waist-to-hip ratios showed a pattern of thicker heart muscles and smaller internal chamber volume.That means the heart muscle becomes bulkier but holds less blood, forcing it to work harder, according to the researchers.

Doctor explaining heart anatomy using model during patient consultation on cardiovascular health

Cardiac MRI scans revealed thicker heart walls and smaller chamber volume in people with excess belly fat.(iStock)

“[Abdominal obesity] appears to lead to a potentially pathological form of cardiac remodeling,” said Erley.

Based on BMI alone, 69% of males and 56% of females in the study wereoverweight or obese.Using waist-to-hip ratio, however, 91% of the males and 64% of females met the criteria for obesity.

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General obesity based on BMI was more often linked to enlarged heart chambers for all participants.Abdominal obesity was associated with thickening of the heart muscle and smaller heart chamber volumes.

Over time, those structural changes can lead to heart failure or othercardiovascular problems, the researchers warned.

“[Abdominal obesity] appears to lead to a potentially pathological form of cardiac remodeling.”

These associations remained strong even after researchers accounted for age, smoking,blood pressureand other risk factors.

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The same trend appeared in women, but the effect was significantly stronger in men.Researchers noted that men tend tostore fat in the abdomenmore readily than women, especially as they age, which may explain the sharper impact.

3 men at a summer festival drink beer from plastic glasses

The heart effect was strongest in men, likely due to differences in how men and women store fat.(iStock)

The findings help to clarify why some people with normal or moderately elevated BMI still develop heart disease, while others weighing 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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