It's Not Just Weight: Body Shape Is Linked to Heart Attack Risk

The study, whose findings were published in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, used data from the UK Biobank project. Participants aged 40 to 70 were followed for an average of 13.3 years. During this period, 14,419 heart attacks were recorded.

People with the highest BRI values had a 52% higher adjusted risk of heart attack than those with the lowest values. Each increase of one standard deviation in BRI was associated with a 13% increase in risk. Higher risk was also associated with waist circumference, BMI, and several other body composition measures.

BRI is calculated using a person's height and waist circumference. It provides an indirect estimate of body roundness and abdominal fat accumulation, but it does not directly measure visceral fat, which surrounds the internal organs.

In terms of predictive accuracy for heart attacks, BRI only marginally outperformed the other measures. Its advantage over its closest competitor, the weight-adjusted waist index (WWI), was minimal. Among women, BRI and WWI performed comparably, while BRI was the strongest predictor among men.

The authors emphasize that the study identified a statistical association but does not prove that greater body roundness directly causes heart attacks. Furthermore, the small advantage offered by the new measure does not yet mean that it will substantially improve existing methods of assessing cardiovascular risk.

Further studies involving more diverse populations are needed to confirm the findings. For now, it is too early to recommend BRI for routine use in clinical practice.