An unhealthy diet and an inactive lifestyle can definitely expand your waistline. But what if you’re eating your veggies and hitting the gym, and your belly is staying the same size while the rest of you is slimming down? That’s so frustrating. Yet it becomes less perplexing once you realize that other things can also contribute to belly fat, even when the rest of your body is relatively lean.
There’s more at stake than being able to button your jeans. Having a big belly is associated with serious health risks, even if your body mass index (BMI)—an estimate of overall body fat—stays within the normal range.
In particular, women with waistlines larger than 35 inches and men with waistlines larger than 40 inches have an increased risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
A study led by a Mayo Clinic researcher pooled data from 650,000 adults around the world. The study showed that men and women with large waist measurements died younger on average than those with trim waists.
For every two inches added to their waistlines, the risk of dying early went up about 9 percent in women and 7 percent in men.Eating too much of the wrong foods and getting too little,
physical activity are major causes of obesity. But in recent years, American waistlines have grown faster than BMI levels.—a sign that eating and exercise habits are only part of the story.
Researchers are now looking for other factors that add specifically to the risk of putting on a potbelly. Below are four culprits you might not suspect.
