Is Obesity Always a Risk Factor for Heart Disease?

When we think about the 70% increase in obesity in this country, we have to understand that as a nation, we're getting sicker and sicker, obesity is associated with diabetes and high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and those risk factors lead to heart disease. Now there's the argument, is it better to be fat or fit?

And at the end of the day, if your cardiovascular status and your ability to exercise is there and if you're a little overweight, that might not as bad, but at the end of the day, obesity is a huge risk factor for heart disease, and if you look down and see some belly fat, you're at an increase risk. So please, as part of taking care of your heart and paying attention to your health, you need to watch your weight. An increase in belly fat is actually associated with a pre-diabetic condition, this is almost an epidemic of women in this country between 30 and 60% of women have the metabolic syndrome.

So that belly fat leads to a pre-diabetic condition and elevated sugars, borderline high blood pressure, low HDL, the good cholesterol, high triglycerides which is associated with carbohydrates and sugars in the diet, and these syndrome can lead to not only heart disease but also diabetes, so belly fat alone is a risk factor, for not only the metabolic syndrome and diabetes but also independently increases your risk for heart disease.