28 Mar 2023 • A new study published in the European Heart Journal claims to have debunked the idea of an 'obesity paradox', which suggests that overweight or obese people with heart problems do better than those of normal weight. The researchers used data from 8,399 patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction who were enrolled in the PARADIGM-HF international study, and found that the supposed survival advantage for people with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or more disappears when the ratio of waist to height is measured. The researchers suggested that waist-to-height ratio was a better indicator of outcomes than BMI, which had many limitations as a measure of adiposity, and did not take into account the location of body fat or its amount relative to muscle or the weight of the skeleton.

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