Overweight And Obesity - Recognizing And Reducing Risk Factors: Heart Disease

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Overweight and obesity

Because obesity is so closely linked to high blood pressure, unfavorable cholesterol levels, lack of exercise, and diabetes, it took scientists a long time to figure out whether obesity itself is a cardiac risk factor. Experts now agree that it is. Excess weight increases your risk for heart disease independent of these other conditions. All forms of obesity are bad for health, but excessive upper-body fat (the "apple shape") is more dangerous to the heart than lower-body obesity (the "pear shape"). In other words, fat stored at or above your waistline is worse than fat in your hips and thighs.

There are two ways to estimate body fat. One is waist measurement. An increase in waist size is an indicator of increased body fat. As you grow older, you may find that your waist size increases even though you have not gained pounds. That's because people tend to lose muscle mass and gain fat with age. Any increase in waist size is a signal that your percentage of body fat is increasing. In general, a waist size of more than 35 inches in women and 40 inches in men is considered high risk for heart disease.

Body mass index (BMI), which takes both height and weight into consideration, provides another way to estimate body fat (see Table 4). You should aim for a BMI of between 18.5 and 24, the range that's considered normal and poses minimal risk for heart disease and other health problems. A BMI between 25 and 29 is considered overweight (moderate risk), and a value of 30 or over is defined as obese (high risk).

It's much easier to diagnose obesity than to correct it. But even losing 5%–10% of your weight can help lower blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels. (For tips on how to shed pounds, see "Lifestyle changes to protect yourself.")

Last updated:	May 03, 2007