Relationship between Weight and Heart Disease

 Running Head: WEIGHT AND HEART DISEASE
Weight and Heart Disease
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Relationship between Weight and Heart Disease
Obesity is a major health risk factor and a complex disorder that is related to
cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and stroke. Researchers have found out
that obese people have an improbable 104 percent increase in the risk of suffering from heart
failure when compared to non-weight people (Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease, 2015).
Besides, there is a high possibility for individuals with abdominal obesity developing
cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, conditions that have contributed to high mortality rates.
Obese persons who have a stroke are at higher mortality risks. Obesity and overweight are
related to other heart diseases’ risk factors such as triglyceride levels, high blood pressure and
elevated levels of blood cholesterol. This paper will explore the relationship between obesity and
heart diseases. Notably, being obese or overweight can raise the risk of developing heart
problems such as heart attack and coronary heart diseases.
Statistics reveal that 35 percent of adults in the United States are obese. For instance, in
the year 2013, all the states in the United States had obesity rates that were more than 20 percent
(Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease, 2015). Furthermore, researchers have estimated that the
rates of obesity for adults could exceed or reach 44 percent in all states in the United States by
2030, a condition that has adverse effects on the health of the nation (Obesity and Cardiovascular
Disease, 2015). For example, there is a reduced life expectancy for people with a body mass
index of greater than 30 when compared to adults with healthy weights. According to research,
17 percent of kids aged between 2 and 19 years are overweight (Obesity and Cardiovascular
Disease, 2015). Such children have been sentenced to future cardiovascular diseases, disability,
and early death. Furthermore, research that was conducted on the American Chinese population
showed that overweight individuals were more likely to report cases of high blood pressure and 
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diabetes (Kwon et al., 2017) The research concluded that cardiovascular heart disease risk
factors were dominant among Asian Americans who had lower body mass index levels.
According to research, obesity is a major risk factor for several sub-categories of heart
diseases such as heart failure, stroke, and coronary heart disease (Ndumele et al., 2016).
Nevertheless, recent evidence shows that obesity results in different types of cardiovascular
diseases via multiple ways. Some traditional risk factors such as dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus,
and hypertension are regarded as mediators between atherosclerotic vascular disease and obesity.
Despite the fact that weight control is a primary element in preventing heart diseases, most obese
people do not attain adequate and constant weight loss. Therefore, doctors have put more
emphasis on regulating the traditional heart disease risk factors that result from obesity to reduce
cardiovascular diseases (Ndumele et al., 2016). However, uniform methodologies of controlling
heart disease risk factors may not have similar effects on the possibility of developing various
types of cardiovascular diseases.
Additionally, obesity is a risk factor for stroke, and high body mass index has been linked
to mortality in the general population. Clinicians have suggested that individuals should maintain
healthy weights and modify their lifestyles to prevent stroke. Nonetheless, the impacts of obesity
and overweight on the diagnosis of stroke are controversial topics. Some potential studies have
shown lower mortality rates in people with obesity when compared to those having normal
weights (Aparicio et al., 2017). The counterintuitive link between higher body mass index and
improved persistence of stroke is described as “obesity paradox” and it is observed in other
disease conditions such as myocardial and heart failure.
In summary, obesity is major health risk factor, and it has been linked to cardiovascular
diseases, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and stroke. There is a high possibility for individuals 
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with abdominal obesity developing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, conditions that have
contributed to high mortality rates. Therefore, obesity or overweight raises the risk of developing
heart diseases. It the reason why clinicians have put more emphasis on weight management to
control heart diseases. 
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References
Aparicio, H. J., Himali, J. J., Beiser, A. S., Davis‐Plourde, K. L., Vasan, R. S., Kase, C. S., ... &
Seshadri, S. (2017). Overweight, Obesity, and Survival After Stroke in the Framingham
Heart Study. Journal of the American Heart Association, 6(6), e004721
Kwon, S. C., Wyatt, L. C., Li,