Obesity causes prolonged inflammation of heart tissue that in turn boosts heart failure risk, according to a U.S. study of almost 7,000 people.
Recent findings from the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) may provide the first real evidence that obesity causes prolonged inflammation of heart tissue. This in turn boosts heart failure risk in obese individuals.
This should give the approximately 72 million obese American adults another good reason to consider a lifestyle change.
In a prepared statement, senior study investigator Dr. Joao Lima, a professor of medicine and radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart Institute, said “The biological effects of obesity on the heart are profound. Even if obese people feel otherwise healthy, there are measurable and early chemical signs of damage to their heart, beyond the well-known implications for diabetes and high blood pressure.”
There is “now even more reason for (obese people) to lose weight, increase their physical activity and improve their eating habits,” Lima said.
Source: HealthDay News
Date: May 6th, 2008
Leave a Reply