Is obesity a major risk factor for coronary heart disease?
Yes. Obesity places a person at higher risk for coronary heart disease because having excess body fat — • Raises total blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels. • Raises blood pressure levels. • Can result in diabetes. In some people, diabetes makes these other risk factors much worse. The danger of heart attack is especially high for people with diabetes. What causes obesity? Obesity is mainly caused by taking in more calories than are burned in physical activity and daily life movement. When people eat too many calories or too much saturated fat and cholesterol, their blood cholesterol levels often rise. That raises their risk of heart disease. How is body fat measured? Waist circumference measurement and body mass index are the recommended ways to estimate body fat. A high-risk waistline is more than 35 inches for women and more than 40 inches for men. The body mass index formula assesses body weight relative to height. It’s a useful, indirect measure of body composition because i
