December 29th, 2009
There is no such thing as a healthy fat man, new research suggests, prompting a serious increase in the promotion of weight loss drugs and healthy living for obese males.
The research was published in the recently published journal Circulation on Dec 28th. The study focused on 1,800 men from Sweden starting at age 50 and recorded who died or had cardiovascular problems–including heart attack or stroke–over a period of 30 years.
Dr. Johan Arnlov, associate professor of cardiovascular epidemiology at Uppsala University and his colleagues measured obesity, metabolic syndrome which includes a range of cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high fats and broad waist size. Metabolic syndrome is defined has having three of more of these risk factors.
In the past, studies have found that there is no increase of cardiovascular risk in obese men who didn’t have the metabolic syndrome. This allowed people to believe there was such a thing as a “healthy obesity”.
However, this new research shows that the previous studies were not long enough. The main problems arose and became more obvious after the 15 year mark.
Over the 30 year period, the risk of cardiovascular disease was at a 63% higher rate for men with a normal weight and metabolic syndrome compared to men with normal weight and no metabolic syndrome. The percentage was 52% higher in overweight men with no metabolic syndrome, 74% higher in overweight men with metabolic syndrome, 95% higher in obese men with no metabolic syndrome and finally 155% higher in the obese men who had metabolic syndrome.
One flaw to the study was that, while measuring in factors such as smoking, there was no look into levels of physical activity.
There has been much evidence that proves that being physically fit, no matter whether you are obese or overweight, will have a beneficial effect.
The end of the study saw 681 cardiovascular events and 386 cardiovascular deaths, similar to the results in a study done in the U.S.
Obese men can no longer overlook their weight as simply a social or psychological issue, cardiovascular health plays a larger role. Physical fitness with the aid of prescription drugs such as Xenical are good steps towards better health.
