Obesity Not Always Cause Heart Disease

Obesity has been frequently associated with an increased risk of death and other cardiovascular health problems. But the scientists in the UK in the latest findings said that obese people do not always have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death.

"They are truly at risk are individuals who have obesity in combination with poor metabolic health," said Mark Hamer, a researcher from University College London.

"People with good metabolic health is not at risk of heart disease later in life - even if they are obese," said Hamer.

Meanwhile, those who are not obese but have poor metabolic health conditions, had the same risk as those with obesity is not healthy, the researchers concluded.

The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism is based on the results of a study of more than 22,000 middle-aged participants, who took part in a national health study in England and Scotland. The researchers concluded that metabolic factors may be more important in predicting whether a person's risk of cardiovascular disease or not, rather than being overweight itself.

"We encourage people with obesity to lose weight for their health. But some provision should be made about how the way we look for people at risk of metabolic disorders," says Hamer.

Adults who have a body mass index (BMI) 30 or higher categorized as obese. Said to nomal when body mass index 18.5 and 24.9 whereas a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight.

Over the past 20 years, obesity has increased significantly in the United States. More than a third of American adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Poor metabolic health

In his latest research, Hamer and his colleagues collected data related among body mass index (BMI) and metabolic profile. Each participant was observed for an average of seven years. Then see how many participants who died during the study and find out what caused it.

Researchers say that none of the participants had cardiovascular disease at baseline. Nearly a quarter of participants were obese, and nearly a quarter of them are considered "metabolically healthy obese" - which means they have normal blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar normal awake.

During the study period, more than 600 participants died from heart panyakit and 1,800 from other causes. The findings showed that those who are obese but not good metabolism at greater risk of dying from heart disease. But those who are obese but metabolically poor health have 59 percent and 64 percent increased risk of death from heart disease compared with healthy participants without obesity.

Among those who were not obese and metabolically unhealthy, have high levels of hypertension and inflammation are higher - comparable to an unhealthy obese participants.

Researchers say the results of this study taking into account other relevant factors such as participant age, gender, smoking, physical activity and socioeconomic status.