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Being overweight may independently increase risk for heart disease events
September 11, 2007Being moderately overweight or obese appears to increase the risk for developing coronary heart disease events independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies in the September 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight and therefore at higher risk for heart disease, other illnesses and death, according to background information in the article. "Because of the high prevalence of overweight and the expected future increases, it is essential to gain precise insight into the consequences of overweight for health and into the metabolic pathways that link the two," the authors write.
Rik P. Bogers, Ph.D., of the Centre for Prevention and Health Services Research, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands, and colleagues combined data from 21 previous studies of overweight and heart disease that included a total of 302,296 participants.
A total of 18,000 heart events or deaths occurred among these participants during the studies. After the researchers factored in age, sex, physical activity levels and smoking, moderately overweight individuals had a 32 percent increased risk of heart disease compared those who were not overweight. Obesity increased their risk 81 percent over those of normal weight.
The researchers then adjusted the figures further for blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This reduced the excess risk associated with being moderately overweight by 47 percent, to 17 percent, and with obesity by 40 percent, to 49 percent. For every five units an individual's body mass index increased, the risk for heart disease increased 29 percent before adjusting for blood pressure and cholesterol and 16 percent after adjustment.
"Hence, the present study indicates that adverse effects of overweight on blood pressure and cholesterol levels could account for about 45 percent of the increased risk of coronary heart disease, and that there is still a significantly increased risk of coronary heart disease that is independent of these effects," the authors write. "This implies that, even under the theoretical scenario that optimal treatment would be available against hypertension and hypercholesterolemia in overweight persons, they would still have an elevated risk of coronary heart disease."
They propose several other mechanisms by which being overweight could increase the risk of heart disease, including constant low-grade inflammation, problems with blood vessel function or an imbalance in blood chemicals that could lead to more clotting.
JAMA and Archives Journals
A total of 18,000 heart events or deaths occurred among these participants during the studies. After the researchers factored in age, sex, physical activity levels and smoking, moderately overweight individuals had a 32 percent increased risk of heart disease compared those who were not overweight. Obesity increased their risk 81 percent over those of normal weight.
The researchers then adjusted the figures further for blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This reduced the excess risk associated with being moderately overweight by 47 percent, to 17 percent, and with obesity by 40 percent, to 49 percent. For every five units an individual's body mass index increased, the risk for heart disease increased 29 percent before adjusting for blood pressure and cholesterol and 16 percent after adjustment.
"Hence, the present study indicates that adverse effects of overweight on blood pressure and cholesterol levels could account for about 45 percent of the increased risk of coronary heart disease, and that there is still a significantly increased risk of coronary heart disease that is independent of these effects," the authors write. "This implies that, even under the theoretical scenario that optimal treatment would be available against hypertension and hypercholesterolemia in overweight persons, they would still have an elevated risk of coronary heart disease."
They propose several other mechanisms by which being overweight could increase the risk of heart disease, including constant low-grade inflammation, problems with blood vessel function or an imbalance in blood chemicals that could lead to more clotting.
JAMA and Archives Journals
Overweight Current Events and Overweight News RSSFat around the middle increases the risk of dementia
Women who store fat on their waist in middle age are more than twice as likely to develop dementia when they get older, reveals a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy.
Other Illnesses, Body Weight Do Not Explain Racial Disparities in Colon Cancer Survival, UAB Researchers Say
A new study by University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers shows that body-mass index (BMI) and co-existing medical conditions (co-morbidity) do not explain the decreased survival observed among African-Americans compared to Caucasians who also have colon cancer.
To eat or not to eat? Mental budgets help control consumption
If you feel like you're in a losing battle with a triple-chocolate cake, a "mental budget" can help, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
Mood improves on low-fat, but not low-carb, diet plan
After one year, a low-calorie, low-fat diet appears more beneficial to dieters' mood than a low-carbohydrate plan with the same number of calories.
Scripps team shows diet switching can activate brain's stress system, lead to 'withdrawal' symptoms
In research that sheds light on the perils of yo-yo dieting and repeated bouts of sugar-bingeing, researchers from The Scripps Research Institute have shown in animal models that cycling between periods of eating sweet and regular-tasting food can activate the brain's stress system and generate overeating, anxiety, and withdrawal-like symptoms.
We spend more on products with detailed nutritional information
People would be willing to pay more for products that carry detailed nutritional information than for the so-called light items.
New finding suggests prostate biopsy is not always necessary
Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that some elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men may be caused by a hormone normally occurring in the body, and are not necessarily a predictor of the need for a prostate biopsy.
Physical education key to improving health in low-income adolescents
School-based physical education plays a key role in curbing obesity and improving fitness among adolescents from low-income communities, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley.
Health-centered weight control method shows promise
Most weight-control strategies emphasize energy-restricted diets and increased physical activity - and most are not effective over the long term.
Addressing obesity via the 'energy gap'
The November issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association features a commentary by James O. Hill, an honorary ADA member, professor of pediatrics and medicine and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado-Denver.
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