"...normal-weight people with a 'spare tire' had a higher risk of dying of heart disease or any other cause compared with people without central obesity, regardless of whether they were normal weight, overweight, or obese."

Belly fat may pose more danger for women than for men

Whittle your waist for better health.

"Regardless of whether women are more vulnerable than men to heart problems related to abdominal weight gain, it's pretty clear that central adiposity presents important health risks, Dr. Kahn says. Researchers have shown that weight gain around the middle represents an increase in the amount of visceral fat, the type of fat that encases your internal organs. "There are many studies showing that an unfavorable waist-to-hip ratio is highly associated with diabetes and cardiovascular risk," says Dr. Kahn.

One such study, in the Dec. 15, 2015, Annals of Internal Medicine, found that normal-weight people with a 'spare tire' had a higher risk of dying of heart disease or any other cause compared with people without central obesity, regardless of whether they were normal weight, overweight, or obese."