People with a large waist relative to their body weight are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke later on, even when you account for other health problems like diabetes or high blood pressure.

WWI is especially good at spotting heart disease risk in younger people and those who already have diabetes, high cholesterol, or metabolic syndrome.

WWI is the best simple body measurement for spotting who’s at risk of heart disease among people with metabolic problems—even better than BMI or waist size alone.

Measuring just waist size or blood fat levels alone isn’t as good at predicting heart disease risk in people with metabolic problems as using a combined measure like WWI.

WWI might be better because it catches people who are skinny but have a big belly and weak muscles, which is more dangerous for the heart than just being overweight.

Measuring your waist compared to your height, your weight relative to your height, or just your waist size can all tell you something about your risk for heart problems—even if you don’t have diabetes or high blood pressure.