New Links to Heart Disease Revealed, Puts Obese On High Alert

The latest study carried out by Bristol University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, has shown that the risk of heart disease due to obesity may be much higher than what has been estimated till date. In a study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers have urged people to boost their efforts to reduce weight in order to avoid dying from cardiovascular disease.

The present study examined the link between body mass index (BMI) and the risk of death by taking measurements from children and comparing it to the health of their parents. The BMI of offspring is closely linked to that of their parents, meaning it provides good information to allow researchers to make better comparisons without the other confounding influences which may affect the results. The study measured BMI and mortality among more than a million pairs of Swedes, comprising mother-and-son pairs and father-and-son pairs, over 50 years.

Studying the father’s BMI alone revealed that the risk of heart deaths increased by 45 per cent for every three-point increase in BMI level i.e., a BMI increase of 3 points (say from 30 to 33), increases their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 82 per cent.  The researchers said: “These data suggest that the adverse influence of higher BMI and obesity in a population is of greater magnitude than previously thought.”

This new study sharpens focus on effects of high BMI on cardiovascular health, which is in contrast to other findings which state that a low BMI (as seen in skinny people) is associated with increased mortality from respiratory disease and lung cancer.

Article by Snigdha Taduri for Biomed-ME