The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, concluded the combined presence of increased waist circumference and increased triglyceride levels -- increased levels of fat in the blood -- was associated with the highest risk of coronary heart disease.

"Among individuals classified at low coronary heart disease risk based on the absence of traditional risk factors, the presence of the hypertriglyceridemic waist is predictive of a substantially increased risk of coronary heart disease," Dr. Benoit Arsenault and Dr. Jean-Pierre Despres, both of Laval University in Quebec City, said in a statement.

The researchers looked at a group of 21,787 men and women ages 45-79 living in Norfolk, England, and enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition -- Norfolk study. Out of the total sample, 1,295 men and 814 women developed coronary heart disease during the follow up period of up to 8-10 years.