Researchers Nail Extra Weight to Heart Risk Equation

For readers who require that New Year’s resolutions have the backup of authoritative medical research, Geezer has some bad news: Gotta lose the extra weight. The Boston Globe reports that researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have calculated the increase in risk of heart disease for each excess pound of fat that we carry.. The study, which tracked the health of 21,094 US male doctors for two
decades, found that even those who were only modestly overweight had a
higher risk of heart disease. Men who are 5 feet 10 inches tall increased their risk of heart disease over the next 20 years by 11 percent for every seven pounds of excess
body weight. Too complicated?  Try this: The risk of heart failure increased by 180 percent in men who
met the definition of obesity according to their body mass index (BMI
of 30 and higher), and by 49 percent in men who met the definition of
overweight (a BMI of 25 to 30).
Read more in the Boston Globe.