San Diego – Big abs can have a negative impact on a man’s health. Body composition is typically defined as the amount of fat, bone, and muscle in the body, and is a concept frequently used by medical professionals when it comes to heart health. But researchers at the University of California, San Diego dispute this, suggesting that gaining muscle doesn’t automatically lower your risk of heart disease.

Dr. Britta Larsen explains that men have larger bodies. abdominal muscle area Increased risk of heart disease.down to the muscles density Prognosis varies widely. Men with the densest intra-abdominal muscles had almost a quarter lower risk of heart disease later in life.

“And the other important thing to note is that we didn’t find this for women. It was just for men,” said the study’s lead author, Herbert Wertheim, Department of Public Health at the University of California, San Diego. Larsen, an associate professor in the School of Human and Geriatric Sciences, said in a media release.

This data was obtained from computed tomography scans of participants in the National Institutes of Health’s Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). The study authors have been investigating thickening of the arteries since 2000, and surveyed participants in their mid-60s from across the country. A follow-up visit was conducted 20 years later. Larsen also notes that her research group tracked each person’s medical records for 12 years.

The research team found that the risk of heart disease in the large muscle group was almost zero. 6 times higher than the group of men with the smallest abdominal muscle area. The research team did not expect such a strong correlation between increased muscle area and coronary heart disease.

“Muscle has long been neglected in health,” explains Larsen. “Researchers have focused solely on fat. But muscle is a large, active metabolic tissue that is finally starting to get some attention.”

According to researchers, the difference between muscle area and muscle density comes down to quantity and quality.

“Density is a little tricky. It’s kind of a surrogate measure of muscle quality,” Larsen added. “This is actually a measure of how much fat has infiltrated into the muscle cavity. Within the muscle itself, how much is pure muscle? What is the fat content?”

Furthermore, the researchers found no correlation between muscle strength and stroke in either men or women. The study differentiated between coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease because they include the risk of stroke.

“This shows that muscle density is more than just a surrogate measure of overall health, frailty, and aging,” concludes Larsen. “Otherwise, strokes and other consequences will also occur.”

Now, Larsen says the project opens further avenues for research and raises new questions to answer. Given that only men had larger abdominal muscles and a higher risk of coronary artery disease, the question arises why this is not the case for women.

Furthermore, the mechanisms explaining this muscle-coronary artery connection are still unclear. Researchers say genetics may play a role, but diet and exercise are more likely to play a role.

The survey results are American Heart Association Journal.