Being Slightly Overweight Increases Heart Disease Risk
A study of 21,094 US male doctors for two decades found that being even slightly overweight increased the risk of developing heart disease. The study, reported on by Reuters and published in the journal Circulation, focused on individuals with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 (defined as "overweight").
For every seven pounds of extra weight on a man of average height (5 ft 10), the risk of heart failure rose by 11 percent over the course of the study.
Although it's long been known that obesity (a BMI over 30) is a risk factor for heart disease, this research indicates that being even 10 or 20 lbs overweight increases the likelihood of heart problems.
The good news, though, is that a small amount of exercise can vastly cut the risk of heart disease. Dr. Satish Kenchaiah, who led the study, told Reuters that:
As far as vigorous physical activity is concerned, even if somebody said they exercised one to three times per month -- which is a very low level of exercise -- they had an 18 percent reduction in the risk of heart failure after accounting for all other established risk factors.
So if you are overweight, just losing a few pounds and going for a jog or a gym class every week could help protect your heart.
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Ssince this blog is read by an international audience, would it be too much to ask measurements such as height and weight to be given in metric as well as in imperial?
It is not that hard to give heights as 5'10"(1.78 m) and weights as 20 lbs (9 kg). It would make this blog a lot easier to read.
For the trolls on this blog: if you think metric stuff is an international left-wing conspiracy, remember that the USA has been officially metric since the Mendenhall Order of April 5, 1893.
ReplyAh, that would definitely be handy - especially since I usually read diet blog first thing in the morning - my brain cannot handle any kind of mental calculations at such a time!
ReplyIf it's so easy, why would they even need to convert it for you?
ReplyAnd I suppose that being medical doctors, and 'knowing' all the risks, they were probably pretty stressed about their potential for heart attacks too! It's a factor though that is seldom taken into account though in this kind of research and I can't help wondering, given the power of our minds, how much that might also play a factor.
ReplyWow, a peer reviewed study by a legitimate scientific organization. Whoda thunk it?
ReplyAm I crazy or does it seem like it's the inactivity and not really the weight?
ReplyWell, I'm noticing the inactivity as the common link.
ReplyI think being inactive probably has more to do with the increased risk than just being overweight. Sedentary people tend to have "stiffer" arteries because they don't get stretched out when blood flows through them. So it makes a lot of sense that being sedentary would increase your heart attack risk.
ReplyI agree with Jim, Heather and Spectra. The headline here should not be that being overweight incrases your risk, it should be that being inactive increases your risk. There are other studies that have taken the inactive people out of the sample and found no relation between weight and risk.
ReplyMy family has a high risk of heart disease. It really scared me because my uncle had a double bypass. I have had high blood pressure since my early twenties. I knew that I need to lose at least 45lbs to get to a healthy weigtht. I come from a family that is obese and i had fallen into the trap. I looked a website called Smartforlife.com. I live in the midwest so I wasn't really familiar with it. After reading many blogs about it. I gave them a call. they explained how the diet works and the aftermath of dieting. It's no Joke! It has been 3months now that I have been on the Smart for Life program and have lost about 30lbs. This is good for me because I don't have the will power to count my calories. Anyways, I am down about 4 sizes. Sincerely, Very happy woman
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