Health & Medicine
Study Reveals Overweight Teens Have Higher Risk Of Developing Heart Failures In Their Middle Age
Johnson D
First Posted: Jun 21, 2016 04:13 AM EDT
A new study has shown that being fat during adolescence can result to heart failures in middle age. The results of the study suggest that parents should look after their child's weight so that development of excess fat could be avoided in the future as well as health problems along with it.
According to Medical Xpress, the research followed more than 1.6 million Swedish men from the Swedish Military Service Register between the years 1968 and 2005. Researchers found out that those who were overweight when they were teenagers were more likely to develop heart failure when they were in the early middle age.
What surprised the researchers was the increased risk of heart failure was discovered in men who had normal body weight range, a body mass index of 18.5 to 25, in their adolescence. The increased risk in the development of heart failure started in those with a BMI of 20 and has been rising dramatically to nearly ten-fold in those who are obese that have a BMI of 35 and over.
"Although most studies define a normal weight as having a BMI between 18.5 and 25, this is probably not an appropriate definition in the young, most of whom are naturally thin. This may be why we see an increase in the risk of heart failure starting at a fairly low BMI level," stated Annika Rosengren, lead author of the study. "However, it was surprising to see the very steep increase in risk with increasing body weight above a BMI of 20," Medical Daily reported.
The participants' heart failure incidence rates were measured by the team of researchers. They considered several factors in their calculations such as IQ, fitness and strength. The team recorded 5,492 cases of heart failures during the follow-up years. Tech Times reported that the average age of people suffering from heart failure was about 46 years old. The researchers also observed that men with a BMI of 20 had the lowest risk. The risk of developing the condition increased as the BMI rose. Among the heart failure cases, 22.9 percent did not have pre-existing conditions such as hypertension or diabetes.
Today's modern, motorized transportation and quick access to cheap, fast food play roles in the increasing obesity epidemic. While the absence of hard labor and easy access to food are fundamentally good, Rosengren highlighted the need for strategies designed to help people not to amass excess body fat.
"Given the global trend for growing numbers of teenagers to be overweight and obese, our findings suggest that heart failure, which in this study occurred at the relatively early average age of about 47 may well become a major threat to health worldwide," added Rosengren.
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First Posted: Jun 21, 2016 04:13 AM EDT
A new study has shown that being fat during adolescence can result to heart failures in middle age. The results of the study suggest that parents should look after their child's weight so that development of excess fat could be avoided in the future as well as health problems along with it.
According to Medical Xpress, the research followed more than 1.6 million Swedish men from the Swedish Military Service Register between the years 1968 and 2005. Researchers found out that those who were overweight when they were teenagers were more likely to develop heart failure when they were in the early middle age.
What surprised the researchers was the increased risk of heart failure was discovered in men who had normal body weight range, a body mass index of 18.5 to 25, in their adolescence. The increased risk in the development of heart failure started in those with a BMI of 20 and has been rising dramatically to nearly ten-fold in those who are obese that have a BMI of 35 and over.
"Although most studies define a normal weight as having a BMI between 18.5 and 25, this is probably not an appropriate definition in the young, most of whom are naturally thin. This may be why we see an increase in the risk of heart failure starting at a fairly low BMI level," stated Annika Rosengren, lead author of the study. "However, it was surprising to see the very steep increase in risk with increasing body weight above a BMI of 20," Medical Daily reported.
The participants' heart failure incidence rates were measured by the team of researchers. They considered several factors in their calculations such as IQ, fitness and strength. The team recorded 5,492 cases of heart failures during the follow-up years. Tech Times reported that the average age of people suffering from heart failure was about 46 years old. The researchers also observed that men with a BMI of 20 had the lowest risk. The risk of developing the condition increased as the BMI rose. Among the heart failure cases, 22.9 percent did not have pre-existing conditions such as hypertension or diabetes.
Today's modern, motorized transportation and quick access to cheap, fast food play roles in the increasing obesity epidemic. While the absence of hard labor and easy access to food are fundamentally good, Rosengren highlighted the need for strategies designed to help people not to amass excess body fat.
"Given the global trend for growing numbers of teenagers to be overweight and obese, our findings suggest that heart failure, which in this study occurred at the relatively early average age of about 47 may well become a major threat to health worldwide," added Rosengren.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone