Extra Weight Can Put Your Heart at Risk, Even If You’re Fit

By Paula Rasich
Reviewed by Elizabeth Klodas, MD, FACC

If, like most American adults, you’re carrying around some excess pounds, you may want to make your weight a priority. New research suggests that being obese or overweight can put you at a higher risk for heart disease, even if you have a healthy lifestyle. In the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study, scientists with Aarhus University Hospital in Aalborg, Denmark, and Harvard University’s School of Public Health in Boston followed 54,783 healthy, middle-aged men and women for an average of 7.7 years.

At the start of the study participants were weighed and then asked to fill out lifestyle questionnaires providing detailed information on four health behaviors: alcohol intake, smoking, diet and physical activity. During the follow up period, 1,127 cases of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) occurred.

Overall, for every point increase in body mass index (BMI), the risk of ACS increased by 5 to 7%. Obesity and overweight were independently associated with an elevated risk of ACS regardless of healthy behaviors. Even among the top 8% of study participants who reported the healthiest lifestyle — exercising regularly, not smoking, eating a healthful diet and drinking alcohol in moderation — those who were obese demonstrated a two-and-a-half-fold increase in risk of ACS, and those who were overweight had a 65% higher risk of ACS, compared with people who maintained a healthy weight.  

You already know that eating right, not smoking, and staying fit can help protect you against heart disease, but sticking to those healthy habits will not automatically eliminate the cardiovascular risk associated with extra weight. “In our study, overweight and obesity were associated with a higher risk of acute coronary syndrome no matter how many healthy lifestyle factors the men and women had,” says lead study author Majken K. Jensen, MSc, a research fellow at Harvard University’s School of Public Health. “And the health factors seem to work additively, so in addition to maintaining a healthy weight it’s important to incorporate as many of the healthy behaviors as possible.”

Sources:

Jensen M. et al.  Obesity, Behavioral Lifestyle Factors, and Risk of Acute Coronary Events.  Circulation: June 17, 2008.

Majken K. Jensen, MSc., Research Fellow at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA.