Weight may not predict heart disease

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Weight may not predict heart disease

Posted by: Courtnay Peifer Updated: May 25, 2012 - 11:35 PM

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An obese person isn't inevitably at increased risk of heart disease and death, according to a new study of 22,000 middle-aged participants.

"People with good metabolic health are not at risk of future heart disease -- even if they are obese," said Mark Hamer, a principal research associate at University College London, told Reuters Health.

But the researchers also found that someone who is not obese but in poor metabolic shape face as much risk as the unhealthy obese. The results suggest that metabolic factors may be more important than predicting the risk of cardiovascular disease than excess body weight.

The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism and were based on national health studies conducted in England and Scotland.