Study: Every 2-3 centimeters at the waist increases heart failure risk by 10%

The researchers measured the waist circumference of 428,000 middle-aged British adults and also looked at heart health data over a 13-year period.

For every extra inch (about 2.5 cm), the risk of being hospitalized for heart failure problems increased by 10%. Therefore, a person with a waist circumference of 41 inches (104 cm) is almost 40% more likely to have heart failure than a person with a waist circumference of 37 inches (94 cm).