People who are overweight or obese can enjoy a significantly reduced risk of heart disease through treatments to control blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose, researchers say today.
The study, in The Lancet, is the latest to contribute to a growing debate about whether carrying too much fat is itself a cause of heart disease.
A research team from the US, UK and Australia found that high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood glucose "partly" contribute to the increased risk of heart disease and stroke faced by people who are overweight.
They found that high blood pressure on its own contributed to 31% of the increased risk of heart disease and 65% of the increased risk of stroke.
The findings come from an analysis of some 97 pieces of research involving nearly two million people.
Researchers Professor Majid Ezzati, from Imperial College, London, UK, said controlling the three factors would not totally offset the harm caused by being overweight.
He said: "We need to need to find creative approaches that can curb and reverse the global obesity epidemic.”
But Goodarz Danaei, of the Harvard School of Public Health, Massachusetts, USA, said: "Our results show that the harmful effects of being overweight or obese on heart disease and stroke partly occur by increasing blood pressure, serum cholesterol and blood glucose.
"Therefore, if we control these risk factors, for example through better diagnosis and treatment of hypertension, we can prevent some of the harmful effects of being overweight or obese."
And Professor Stephen Hill, of the UK Medical Research Council, which backed the study, said: "It’s interesting that, even when blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol are brought under control, obese individuals are still at a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.
"This suggests that other factors might be at play, which is likely to be of interest for future research into the consequences of obesity.”
Metabolic mediators of the effect of body mass index, overweight and obesity on coronary heart disease and stroke: Pooled analysis of 97 prospective cohorts with 1.8 million participants Lancet 22 November 2013
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