17 July,2024 03:46 PM IST | New Delhi | IANS
Image for representational purposes only (Photo Courtesy: iStock)
People who gain excess weight from their 20s are likely to have weaker hearts by the time they reach their 60s, according to a study.
Scientists from the University College London (UCL) verified this by examining the links between weight gain in young and middle-aged adults and enlarged hearts that pump blood less well. This is over and above the effect of being overweight in later years, they said in the paper, published in the European Heart Journal.
Alun Hughes, Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pharmacology at UCL noted that early weight gain causes heart damage beyond the effects of being overweight later in life.
He said that while it is known that "being overweight is associated with poorer heart health, we know little about the long-term relationship between being overweight over the adult life course and subsequent heart health".
ALSO READ
Mobile phone use can worsen heart disease in smokers, diabetics: Study
Limiting mobile phone use may help reduce risk of cardiovascular disease: Expert
Delhi doctors give new life to 1.5-month-old baby with a hole in the heart
Maintain ideal heart rate key for better heart health, say doctors
Study shows kidney drug can boost treatment outcomes for heart attack patients
Hughes noted that the research aimed "to look at whether being overweight at earlier stages of adult life showed lasting associations with poorer heart health irrespective of people's weight in later life".
The study included 1,690 people born in England, Scotland, and Wales in 1946. The participants were examined based on their body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, and ECGs.
Researchers found that elevated BMI from age 20 onwards led to higher left ventricular mass in individuals in their 60s, indicating poor heart health and increased mortality risk. A five-unit higher BMI at age 43 correlated with a 15 per cent or 27-gram increase in left ventricular mass.
They added that the study included mostly white European people, so it may not apply to the global population, although Professor Hughes said there is a close link.
Also Read: Can't lose weight despite a healthy home diet? Here's what you need to know
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
