LONDON - Measuring body mass index or waist size in overweight people can accurately predict the risk of heart disease, Dutch scientists said on Monday.

    A large 10-year study found that half of all fatal heart disease cases and a quarter of all non-fatal cases are linked to being overweight and having a high body mass index （BMI） or large waist.

    Body mass index and waist circumference are well known risk factors for cardiovascular diseases but the Dutch researchers said their work showed BMI and waist size could actually help predict the risk of dying from or developing heart disease.

    "What this study shows is the substantial effect which （being） overweight and obesity have on cardiovascular disease, whether fatal of non-fatal," said Ineke van Dis from the Netherlands Heart Foundation, who led the study.

    "In the near future the impact of obesity on the burden of heart disease will be even greater."

    Dis and colleagues at the monitoring project on risk factors for chronic diseases at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment measured between both BMI and waist circumference in 20,500 men and women 1993 and 1997.

    When age-adjusted BMI and waist sizes were correlated with hospital records and cause-of-death data over 10 years, more than half （53 percent） of all fatal heart disease cases and around a quarter （25-30 percent） of all non-fatal cases were in people defined as overweight and obese.

    Overweight people are defined as having a BMI of between 25 and 30 and obese people of 30 or more, according to the World Health Organization （WHO）. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared.

    Waist circumference measurements in men were defined as between 94 and 101.9 cm for overweight and more than 102 cm for obese. In women these measurements were 80-87.9 cm for overweight and more than 88 cm for obese.

    Obesity is increasing throughout the world and is now recognized as a major global public health concern.

    "These findings underline the need for policies and activities to prevent overweight in the general population," Dis said in the study, which was published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

    荷蘭科學家在周一表示，測量體重指數或超重人腰圍大小可以準確地預測心臟病風危險。

    一項進行10年的研究發現，有一半的致命心臟病病例和四分之一非致命性病例與超重和有高體重指數（BMI）或大腰圍有關。

    體量指數和腰圍是眾所周知的心腦血管疾病的導致因素，但荷蘭的研究人員表示，他們的研究表明，體重指數和腰圍大小實際上能夠幫助預測死于心臟病或患上心臟疾病的風險。

    "本研究表明超重和肥胖對心血管疾病有實質性的影響，無論是致命的還是非致命的",指導這項研究來自荷蘭心臟病基金會的Ineke van Dis說。

    "在不久的將來肥胖對心臟病負擔的影響將會更大。"

    1993年和1997年，Dis和他的同事在荷蘭國家公共衛生環境研究所在慢性疾病的危險因素監測項目中對20,500 男女高體重指數（BMI）和腰圍進行測量。

    當體重指數和腰圍大小的年齡調整與10多年來醫院記錄相關的致死數據一致時，有超過一半（百分之五十三）致命于心臟病病例和大約四分之一（百分之二十五到三十）非致命病例是超重者和肥胖者。

    根據世界衛生組織（世衛組織）,超重的人被定義為體重指數有25到30,肥胖者體重指數為30以上。體重指數是按公斤體重除以平方米身高的方式計算

    男性腰圍測量，94到101.9厘米定義為超重，超過102厘米為肥胖。婦女測量80-87.9厘米為超重，88以上為肥胖厘米。

    現在世界各地肥胖者越來越多，被認為是全球主要關注的一個公共衛生問題。

    "這些發現強調需要政策和活動的來防止普通人群中出現超重，"Dis在研究中說，并發表在歐洲心血管預防和康復雜志上