Being a Fat Baby Boomer Increases Your Risk of Dying
January 28 2006
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Even if your blood pressure and cholesterol are normal, extra weight during middle age can still put your health at serious risk.
Researchers tracked over 17,000 patients for 30 years and found that being overweight in mid-life substantially increased the risk death from heart disease later on, even if all other factors were normal.
Higher blood pressure and cholesterol have been generally thought to be responsible for the higher risk overweight people face from heart disease. But there is increasing evidence suggesting that excess weight is a risk factor all by itself.
Obese study participants with normal blood pressure and cholesterol were 43 percent more likely than normal-weight participants to eventually die of heart disease.
They were also four times more likely to be hospitalized for heart disease. Moderately overweight participants also ran a somewhat higher risk than normal-weight people.