In this story:

• Risk formula
• Aggressive treatment recommended
• Related Stories and Sites

BOSTON (CNN) -- A big-waisted body type, also known as an "apple" shape, has again been linked to heart disease by researchers -- this time in women, and even at normal body weights.

Harvard University researchers found women who had the highest waist-to-hip ratio were three times more likely to develop heart disease than those with the lowest ratio.

INTERACTIVE:

Find your risk ratio

"It's not only how much total fat that you have, but how it is distributed that affects risk," said Dr. Kathryn Rexrode of Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Previous studies have shown that men who are apple shaped are at increased risk for developing heart disease. Taken with the newest findings about women, the apple body shape becomes a warning sign of possible heart disease for all adults.

RELATED VIDEO
CNN's Linda Ciampa reports on the apple theory
Windows Media	28K	56K

The recently released Harvard study, performed in conjunction with researchers at Brigham and Women's, found the magic number is .80 -- that is, a woman's waist size divided by her hip size should yield a number no greater than .80.

A hypothetical woman with a 32-inch waist and hips measuring 36 inches would have a ratio of .88, slightly above what the Boston researchers recommend for the prevention of heart disease.

Another finding showed women with waistlines of 38 inches or more had more than three times the risk of heart disease than those with waists of 28 inches or less.

At 5'4" and 139 pounds, Cynthia Franks falls into an acceptable weight range for good health, but her waist-to-hip ratio does not fit into the new guidelines for preventing heart disease.

"It was surprising, but it's something I don't want to ignore," Franks said.

Women like Franks are advised to keep their waistlines as trim as possible through exercise and diet, and their doctors are advised to treat other heart disease risk factors promptly.

"We need to be more aggressive about treating cholesterol in those women, watching blood pressure, following a healthy diet and exercising," Rexrode said.

Rexrode did not specify the exact biological mechanism at work in people with an apple body shape, but noted that "fat within the abdominal cavity appears to be associated with worse cholesterol profiles, higher triglyceride levels, lower hdl cholesterol -- which is the good cholesterol -- and higher ldl cholesterol."

Previous studies have shown that men who are apple shaped are at increased risk for developing heart disease. Taken with the newest findings about women, the apple body shape becomes a warning sign of possible heart disease for all adults.