PCRM Breaking Medical News: Which is Worse: Fat or Sedentary?

Fit or Not--Being Fat is Riskiest for Your Heart

Excess body fat is more dangerous for your heart than being sedentary. A new study shows overweight women who exercise are at greater risk for heart attack than thin women who never lift a finger. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston studied 27,158 women participating in the Women's Health Study, aged 45 years and older, and free of cardiovascular disease at study entry.

High BMI (body mass index is a measure of weight taking height into account) was more strongly associated with biomarkers for cardiovascular risk than was physical activity. Heavier women had an 87 percent increased risk for elevated LDL cholesterol, compared to 14 percent risk among inactive women. C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation in the body, was nearly 8 times more likely to be elevated among overweight women than sedentary.

The most favorable inflammatory and lipid levels were found among women with both moderate physical activity and normal weight.

Mora S, Lee I, Buring JE, Ridker PM. Association of physical activity and body mass index with novel and traditional cardiovascular biomarkers in women. JAMA. 2006;295:1412-1419.

--------
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 400,
Washington, DC 20016

Source: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Author: PCRM

Link: Near-Vegan Regimen Isn't Perfect, But Benefits Worth Noting


Other EVANA-articles about this topic:
EU/Markos Kyprianou - Tackling obesity and overweight - a transatlantic perspective (en)

Vegetarian Diet May Help Weight Loss (en)

Abnehmen: Vegetariern fällt es leichter (de)

New scientific review shows vegetarian diets cause major weight loss (en)

Switching to vegetarian keeps weight down: study (en)

USA: Les autorités californiennes ferment le ranch de Michael Jackson (fr)

PCRM: Dairy Products Fail to Stop Weight Gain (en)