Central obesity is more of a risk factor for mortality in a case of coronary artery disease than BMI. Hence BMI is may not the appropriate tool to determine the prognosis; one should also take in account waist hip ratio & body fat percentage.

Team@CMHF

A large study conducted showed that mortality risk in patients with coronary heart disease increases with central obesity as measured by waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio. The effect was noted in patients with a normal BMI as well suggesting that BMI alone may not be the appropriate measurement to follow in terms of prognosis.

Studies concluded that, central obesity was associated with increase in the risk of death, regardless of body mass index. BMI, although widely used, “is not a good measure of body fatness and gives no insight into the distribution of fat.”

BMI is just a measure of weight in proportion to height, it doesn’t tell about how the fat is distributed on the body.”

People who have fat mostly in other locations in the body, specifically, the legs and buttocks, don’t show increased risk compared to visceral fat which is more metabolically active and produces more changes in cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar

Reference: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Prevention/26233