Larger Belly Size May Double Stroke Risk in Hypertensive Elderlies

Summary: One of the new studies shows that the weight-adjusted-waist index (WWI), one of the reliable ways to measure the severity of central obesity, may help predict stroke risk in older adults. The new study found that a larger belly was associated with almost double the stroke risk.

 Of course, measuring body weight is quite easy, but that is not a perfect way to understand if someone is overweight or not. So, science has developed BMI, which helps us understand how good body weight is relative to height.

However, over the years, science has realized that measuring body weight or BMI is insufficient. Many people with relatively normal body weight or BMI may develop heart disease or stroke. So, science realized that a larger belly is associated with a much greater risk of heart attack and stroke.

This is because visceral fat causes much more inflammation, negatively affecting cardiovascular health and increasing the risk of liver disease, cancers, and more.

Over the years, quite like BMI, researchers have also developed the weight-adjusted-waist index (WWI). This new kind of measurement not only measures waist circumference but also considers waist circumference relative to body weight. This helps measure central obesity more accurately, especially in obese people.

It is natural that obese people will have larger belly sizes. However, many do not have large bellies relative to their body weight. On the other hand, many individuals with relatively normal body weight may have a larger belly, thus central obesity. Yes, central obesity may even exist in those with relatively normal body weight. That is why calculating WWI is so important.

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Although now it is well known that BMI is just not enough to know someone’s risk of heart attack and stroke, it is also vital to consider waist circumference/central obesity, which is best measured using WWI. However, knowledge gaps remain. There are still few studies regarding WWI. Hence, it is unclear to what degree WWI or central obesity increases the risk of various non-infectious diseases.

However, things are improving fast, and researchers are now more extensively studying central obesity using WWI. Thus, for example, one of the previous studies found that a larger belly size or greater WWI was associated with a much greater loss of skeletal muscle mass (sarcopenia) in older adults.

Now, one of the new studies focused on understanding stroke risk in elderly patients living with hypertension and central obesity using WWI. The study found that higher WWI may double the risk of stroke. This is vital to understand, as it means that even those with normal weight or moderately overweight are at an increased risk of stroke if they are living with central obesity.

This study was quite extensive, as it has a decent sample size of 4962 hypertensive adults above the age of 60 years. These were adults with no history of stroke. Researchers followed them for about 3.2 years. During this period, they could identify 547 new-onset stroke cases. These numbers are massive.

When they analyzed the data for 4962 individuals, they found that those with the lowest WWI had half the risk of stroke compared to those on the higher end of WWI. That is a massive difference. It means that a larger tummy size alone may double the stroke risk, irrespective of total body weight.

Of course, here it is vital to understand that that risk is even greater in those living with severe obesity along with high WWI.

Such studies also explain why many people with relatively normal body weight may have a heart attack or stroke. Studies have shown that certain ethnic groups, especially Asians, are prone to central obesity, and thus, they have a high incidence of heart attack and stroke, though relative to whites, they are not that obese.

To sum up, in order to understand your heart attack and stroke risk, it is vital to keep a close eye on total body weight and BMI. However, it is equally vital to measure waist circumference and keep an eye on WWI. These methods are simple, accessible, and can help anyone understand their heart attack and stroke risk. Not only that, higher BMI and central obesity are associated with a greater risk of almost all non-infectious diseases.

Source:

Hu, J., Cai, X., Song, S., Zhu, Q., Shen, D., Yang, W., Hong, J., Luo, Q., & Li, N. (2024). Association between weight-adjusted waist index with incident stroke in the elderly with hypertension: A cohort study. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 25614. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76709-y