Even a Little Overweight, Inactivity Hurts the Heart

[Guest guest]

A corollary article to the previous article concerning BMI>30

The real culprit in increase heart rate is inactivity. A good exercise program

may very well offset the adverse effects of being overweight.

Ralph Giarnella MD

Southington Ct USA

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Even a Little Overweight, Inactivity Hurts the Heart

By Ed Edelson

HealthDay Reporter

Monday, December 22, 2008; 12:00 AM

MONDAY, Dec. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Even a few extra pounds and just a little

inactivity increased the risk of heart failure in a major study of American

doctors.

" What this study shows is that even overweight men who are not obese have an

increase in heart failure risk, " said Dr. Satish Kenchaiah, lead author of a

report on the finding in the Dec. 23 issue of Circulation.

As for exercise, " even a little amount of physical activity appears to decrease

the risk of heart failure, " said Kenchaiah, who did the research as a

epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and is now at the U.S.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

The study has followed more than 21,000 doctors for two decades, measuring among

other factors the influence of overweight and physical activity on development

of heart failure, the progressive loss of ability to pump blood, which is often

a prelude to major coronary events.

Outright obesity, defined as a body-mass index of 30 or over, has long been

known as a risk factor for heart failure. The new report concentrated on men who

were borderline overweight, with a body-mass index of 25 to 29.9.

About 5 percent of the doctors were obese, and 40 percent were overweight, when

the study began. Adjusting for other risk factors such as high blood pressure

and high cholesterol, the study found a 49 percent increased incidence of heart

failure in overweight men compared to those with a body-mass index of 25 or

less. Incidence of heart failure was 180 percent for the obese men compared to

the leaner ones.

It was the same story for physical activity. " Men who engaged in physical

activity anywhere from one to three times a month had an 18 percent reduction in

heart failure risk, " Kenchaiah said. " For those who were active five to seven

times a week, the reduction was 36 percent. The more you exercise, the more

reduction you achieve. "

The association of even minimal physical activity with reduced risk could be

explained as an indicator of good habits in general, he said. " It is possible

that they have a healthier lifestyle in general, " Kenchaiah said.

The study found that doctors who rarely or never exercised were older, smoked

cigarettes more often, and were more likely to have high blood pressure or

diabetes.

" This new report reinforces what we've said in the past, " said Dr. Gerald

Fletcher, a preventive cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in ville, Fla.

" Not being obese but being overweight is definitely a risk factor for heart

failure. "

While Fletcher said he would have liked a more definitive indicator of physical

activity -- the report described it as simply breaking a sweat -- he said the

study showed again that " vigorous exercise makes the difference. The more you

do, the better it is for you. "

Two-thirds of Americans have excess body weight, and only about 30 percent

exercise regularly, Kenchaiah said. About 660,000 new cases of heart failure are

diagnosed each year in the United States, he said, and 80 percent of the men and

75 percent of the women aged 65 and older who are diagnosed with heart failure

die within eight years.

More information

Heart failure and its treatment are described by the American Heart Association.

SOURCES: Satish Kenchaiah, M.D., U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute,

Bethesda, Md.; Gerald Fletcher, M.D., preventive cardiologist, Mayo Clinic,

ville, Fla.; Dec. 23, 2008, Circulation