Well, it almost doubles your risk…

… but the strange thing is the risk occurs even if your body mass index (BMI) is in the normal range.

In a new study of 350,000 Europeans that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it was shown that your waist size can have a tremendous effect on your health and your risk of premature death.

By looking at people with similar body mass index, the researchers found that the risk of premature death almost doubled for those with large waists of over 47 inches for men and over 39 inches for women.

That’s in comparison to people with smaller waists, which was defined as less than 31-1/2 inches for men and less than 25-1/2 inches for women.

For every 2 inches your waist circumference increases, your risk of premature death increases by 17% if you’re a man and 13% if you’re a woman. The circumference is the distance measured around your waist.

It turns out that another measurement, your waist to hip ratio, is also important. For that, you divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement.

If the results of this study hold, each .1 unit increase in waist to hip ratio will increase your risk of death by 34% if you’re a man and 24% if you’re a woman.

The usual waist to hip ratio in this study was between .78 and 1.10 in men and between .66 and .98 in women.

The researchers believe that fat stored around the waist may cause premature death by secreting hormones, cytokines, and other metabolically active compounds that can result in heart disease or cancer.

Although waist size is linked to a higher risk of premature risk despite your BMI, this research does confirm earlier studies that found a higher BMI is linked to higher rates of death.