LDL cholesterol deposited on artery walls forms atherosclerotic plaques. This is why high levels of LDL cholesterol are a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The amount of LDL cholesterol is not especially increased in people who are obese, but the particles of LDL in their blood are likely to be smaller and denser than the LDL in people of normal weight. Small, dense LDL is more readily oxidized, and oxidized LDL more easily enters arterial wall cells to cause atherosclerosis.

So what's the connection between LDL cholesterol and the amount of fat around your belly? Research has found that individuals with an enlarged waist circumference (40 inches or more in men, 35 inches or more in women) also have high blood levels of oxidized LDL, the kind that's more likely to cause atherosclerosis.

In addition, the other cardiovascular risk factors associated with obesity (high blood pressure, high blood glucose, low HDL cholesterol, and elevated triglyceride levels) are also more closely tied to intra-abdominal fat than to body weight.

These findings are consistent with many studies which have found that the risks for cardiovascular disease and diabetes are more closely related to the amount of fat within the abdomen than to body weight itself.

It's never too late to get rid of extra fat within the belly. And the good news is that abdominal fat is the first to go during weight loss.