Obesity doesn't always mean higher heart risk

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Obesity doesn't always mean higher heart risk

Posted by: Colleen Stoxen Updated: May 24, 2012 - 10:41 AM

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An obese person isn't inevitably at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death, a new U.K. study finds.

"The people really at risk are the ones who have obesity in combination with other metabolic health risk factors," said Mark Hamer, a principal research associate at University College London who worked on the study.

The results are in line with most previous research that defined metabolic health as having normal levels of markers like blood pressure, blood sugar, HDL, or "good" cholesterol, and C-reactive protein, which is a measure of inflammation in the body.

"People with good metabolic health are not at risk of future heart disease -- even if they are obese," Hamer told Reuters Health.

On the flip side, the non-obese in poor metabolic shape face as much risk as the unhealthy obese, the researchers concluded.

The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, are based on more than 22,000 middle-aged participants in national health studies conducted in England and Scotland.