Now, a hidden fat test to determine heart disease risk

Boffins in South Korea have developed a test that can show if hidden fat in people of normal weight is putting them at an increased risk of heart disease.

London, May 1 : Boffins in South Korea have developed a test that can show if "hidden" fat in people of normal weight is putting them at an increased risk of heart disease.

The test, which checks blood-flow via a cuff on the ankle or arm, measures the flexibility of a person's artery walls.

The more elastic the walls are, the better the person's blood circulation is. Researchers have found that people with the poorest blood flow have more fat around their organs, and so are most at risk.

As a part of the study the researchers from the University of South Korea tested 150 women aged 22 to 67, all of whom had healthy lifestyles.

The researchers not only checked the women's weight, but also for visceral fat, which lies around the organs. Ordinary fat is different as it lies underneath the skin.

People can have too much visceral fat but still be a normal body weight.

The researchers found that women of normal weight who had high visceral fat levels scored 11 percent higher on the test than women, who though overweight had normal visceral fat levels.

The findings suggest that normal weight women with "hidden fat" are at a higher risk of heart disease.

The boffins say that identifying visceral fat levels early is essential, as it can help women effect lifestyle changes before it is too late.

"While having lots of fat around your organs is bad for your health, people can easily reduce their visceral fat levels by taking regular exercise. It is essential that people realise the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle as well as a healthy body weight," the BBC quoted lead researcher Professor Duk-Chul Lee, as saying.

With approximately 40 percent of people thought to have too much visceral fat stored round stomach area, Professor Paul Stewart, an obesity specialist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, said that the study showed in simple terms that having more hidden fat in that area puts people at an increased risk of heart disease.

"The take-home message of this study is that having more fat around your the belly area puts you at increased risk of heart disease. it's not so much about general obesity; it's about middle-aged spread and where fat lies that's the problem. This is one more test that can indicate risk," he said.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said that the new test only confirmed what health experts had long suspected.

"This study confirms what we have known for some time; good heart health seems to depend more on our shape than our weight," he said.

''Visceral' fat inside our abdominal cavity - surrounding our intestines - increases our heart disease risk more than fatness in other parts of our body. It's possible in future that measures of waist circumference will be included to refine the heart disease risk assessment. But factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking - which are routinely taken into account - are more important," he added.

ANI