Abs Will Help You Live Longer

STUDY AFTER STUDY shows that the people with the largest waist
sizes have the most risk of life-threatening disease. The evidence
couldn’t be more convincing. According to the National Institutes
of Health, a waistline larger than 40 inches for men signals significant
risk of heart disease and diabetes. The Canadian Heart
Health Surveys, published in 2001, looked at 9,913 people ages 18
to 74 and concluded that for maximum health, a guy needs to
keep his waist size at no more than 35 inches (a little less for
younger guys, a little more for older ones). When your waist grows
larger than 35 inches, you’re at higher risk of developing two or
more risk factors for heart disease. And when researchers examined
data from the Physicians’ Health Study that has tracked
22,701 male physicians since 1982, they found that men whose
waists measured more than 36.8 inches had a significantly ele-
STRIP AWAY FAT, STRIP AWAY TROUBLE 5
vated risk for myocardial infarction, or heart attack, in which an
area of the heart muscle dies or is permanently damaged by a lack
of bloodflow. Men with the biggest bellies were at 60 percent
higher risk. Now the real scary part: The average American man’s
waist size is a ponderous 38.8 inches, up from 37.5 in 1988, according
to the journal Obesity Research. The same sad truth holds
for women, too: A woman with a flabby midsection is at increased
risk for the same health problems. And American women have
seen their weight rise just as men have.
Of course, abs don’t guarantee you a get-out-of-the-hospitalfree
card, but studies show that by developing a strong abdominal
section, you’ll reduce body fat and significantly cut the risk factors
associated with many diseases, not just heart disease. For example,
the incidence of cancer among obese patients is 33 percent