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Abdominal fat predicts heart disease risk better than BMI


Study shows BMI does not reflect overall body composition since central adiposity is not measured Contact: Olivia Walther, owalther@acc.org , WASHINGTON (Aug 11, 2026) - The size of a person’s midsection is a better indicator of cardiovascular disease risk when compared to their body mass index (BMI) alone, according to a study published in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology. BMI has traditionally been used to determine overweight or obesity, common risk factors for heart disease, but this study shows that not accounting for waist circumference (WC) or waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) can lead to misclassification of cardiovascular disease risk.

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