A study in 2012 showed that cardiovascular deaths were 2.75 times higher for people of normal weight with big tummies compared to people with a normal waist-to-hip ratio. ["Normal-weight Central Obesity and Cardiovascular Mortality Risk in the U.S. Population"]
Adding just 11cm around your abdomen can increase the risk of cancer by 13%. [The Times, May 24th 2017] That's just TWO dress sizes!
According to Samuel Dagogo-Jack, MD, president of the American Diabetes Association the visceral fat around your waist causes toxins called cytokines to make your body less sensitive to insulin. A major factor that can induce diabetes.
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in March 2016 showed that each additional pound of fat around your middle to is associated with new onset high blood pressure, higher blood sugar and high triglycerides (which lower levels of GOOD cholesterol).