There is a connection between your waist size and your health, according to cardiologists.

During the Philippine Heart Association (PHA)'s Usapang Puso sa Puso on 31 March, Dr. Jun Aventura Jr. explained that to be able to prevent the heart from overworking, one should maintain a normal blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI), and sugar level.

"BP should be around 130 over 80, waist circumference should be about 33 inches less for women and below 37 inches in men," Aventura said.

"A waist measurement of more than 34.5 inches in women and more than 37 inches in men is considered a substantially increased health risk," he added.

Aventura, executive director of the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), noted that a normal BMI for adults is considered to be between 18.5 and 24.9.

"Let's not wait to reach the serious level before we do something. Early detection and doing something about it are two different things," the cardiologist added.

Asked when there is a connection between obesity and heart failure, Dr. Liberty Yaneza of PHC explained that those with obesity may also become hypertensive.

"We are becoming high in cholesterol, then we are becoming diabetic. So all that can be a burden on the heart, especially on our veins. So there's a clear or direct cause if you are obese to leading to heart failure," Yaneza continued.

Aventura added that obesity also accompanies other metabolic abnormalities like hypertension and dyslipidemia.

"These are independent risk factors for coronary artery disease, which often leads to ischemic heart failure," he explained.

"It's very important that we identify these risk factors and emphasize to patients that their blood pressure should be well-controlled, their sugar should be well-controlled, they should exercise, and they should stop bad habits like smoking and drinking alcohol," Yaneza added.