In a study that was just published in the medical journal Circulation, researchers concluded that abdominal (belly) fat is indeed strongly correlated with a risk of heart disease.

In the research by British medical scientists, it was also conclude that waist-hip ratio is a more accurate predictor for heart disease than just a simple waist measurement, as those with the largest waist-hip ratio out of the 25,000+ study participants were the highest at risk for heart problems.

In a media obsessed with obesity (weight) rather than waste size, this study seemed to tinker with that notion a bit. A lead researcher on the study even said that "people whose abdominal fat puts them at higher risk for heart disease do not always appear overweight or obese". That is very true.