The research published in the European Heart Journal reveals that being overweight leads to heart and blood vessel problems, contradictory to popular opinion.
How many times have you heard someone saying that you can judge someone’s health and fitness just by their weight? More often than not, people believe that being overweight doesn’t have to cause health issues, at least not those of serious nature, such as stroke and heart attack; and that those extra pounds are only a bother when looking for the right pair of jeans. While that might be true for people who are dealing with that winter “fluff,” a recent study indicates that individuals with a BMI higher than 22-23* higher are bound to struggle with their heart health. This means that even moderate weight gains have the potential to damage your health, let alone being obese.
The research included nearly 300,000 adults of white European descent and both sexes, who were monitored for a period of 5 to 10 years. What the team of scientists at the University of Glasgow found indicated that not only you can’t be obese and healthy, but that even what we consider “chubbiness” has the potential to wreak havoc on your body. For instance, their findings indicate that women who gain 11 lbs over what’s considered their average weight, as well as men with just 9 lbs extra, have upped their chances for cardiovascular disease for 16%.
In a time when “body positive” movement is gaining popularity, the results of this study might come as a shock to many people. Although the fact that none of us should be judged by our appearance still holds true, it’s time to say goodbye to the belief that weight has nothing to do with our health. We might not care if we have a couple of pounds to shed, but our hearts sure do!
*In case you’re unsure what your Body Mass Index (BMI) is, you can use this free calculator to find out.
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