Study of 3.5 million people shows ‘healthy’ obese at higher risk than the general population
WEDNESDAY, May 17, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Individuals with metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) still have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than normal-weight people, according to a study presented at the European Congress on Obesity, held from May 17 to 20 in Porto, Portugal.
Researchers analyzed 1995 to 2015 electronic health records of 3.5 million people aged 18 and older in the United Kingdom who were initially free of cardiovascular disease.
Compared to normal-weight individuals with no metabolic conditions, individuals with MHO had a 50 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease, a 7 percent higher risk of stroke, twice the risk of heart failure, and a greater risk of peripheral vascular disease, the researchers found. The investigators also found that the risk of cardiovascular disease in obese people rose with the number of metabolic abnormalities.
“This is the largest prospective study of the association between metabolically [healthy] obesity and cardiovascular disease events,” study author Rishi Caleyachetty, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the University of Birmingham’s College of Medical and Dental Sciences in the United Kingdom, said in a meeting news release. “The priority of health professionals should be to promote and facilitate weight loss among obese persons, regardless of the presence or absence of metabolic abnormalities.”
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