Increasing your waist by just 1cm increases your risk of developing serious heart problems by 5%. This conclusion was made by researchers from Oxford University.
Carrying a few extra pounds around your waist isn't just a sign that you need to diet and exercise more. A study has shown that excess belly fat is a warning of an increased risk of heart failure. Each additional centimeter in addition to waist size increases the risk of this incurable cardiovascular disorder by 5%.
Belly fat is more dangerous than being overweight in general
The authors of the study analyzed data on 430,000 Britons aged 40 to 70 years. They were followed for an average of 13 years. Every centimeter above the considered healthy waist size increased the risk of heart attacks, strokes or arrhythmias. Those with the largest waist were 3.21 times more likely to experience cardiovascular disease than those with the smallest.
Every extra inch of your waist increases your risk of heart failure by 11%
But those with the highest risk were only 2.65 times more likely to suffer from heart disease compared to those who had the smallest weight. This indicator was calculated from the body mass index. This means that the risk of cardiovascular complications depends not so much on excess weight, but on the volume of the waist. During the study, 8,669 cases of heart failure were recorded, and many of them ended in the death of patients. (READ MORE) 
Oxford University
Medicine
British University in Oxford, England. One of the oldest universities in the world, the first English-speaking university in the British Isles.