Being Overweight in MidlifeWorsens Heart Risks wsj.com

Middle-age people who are overweight but have normal
blood pressure and cholesterol levels are kidding themselves if they
think their health is just fine.

Northwestern University researchers tracked 17,643
patients for three decades and found that being overweight in midlife
substantially increased the risk of dying of heart disease later in
life -- even in people who began the study with healthy blood pressure
and cholesterol levels.

High blood pressure and cholesterol are strong risk
factors for heart disease. Both are common in people who are too fat,
and often are thought to explain why overweight people are more prone
to heart disease.

But there is a growing body of science suggesting that
excess weight alone is an independent risk factor for heart attacks,
strokes and diabetes....

Fat tissue "is not like an inert storage depot -- it's
a very dynamic organ that is actually producing hormones and chemical
messengers," said JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at
Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital. These substances can damage
blood vessels, increase the risk of blood clots and cause insulin
resistance that makes people prone to diabetes -- all without elevating
blood pressure or cholesterol, said Dr. Manson, who wasn't involved in
the Northwestern study.

Still, there is a common misconception that excess
weight is nothing to worry about until high blood pressure and poor
cholesterol develop, and those can then be treated with medications,
Dr. Manson said. "Patients say that all the time, and many doctors
actually will say that to patients" too, she said.