Does being overweight lead to a rise in cholesterol levels and also increase the risk of having a heart attack?
Being overweight can raise cholesterol levels. People who are more than twenty percent overweight (obese) tend to have higher LDL and lower HDL cholesterol than people who are not overweight. But excess body fat doesn’t necessarily cause these cholesterol changes. It may simply be found along with them. High triglyceride levels, high Blood Pressure, high blood sugar and diabetes are the other risk factors of heart disease that obese people may have.

Studies on whether obesity increases ones chances of having a heart attack have mixed findings. It is difficult to know whether obesity in itself is a risk for heart disease because it is found along with other risk factors. Some research suggest that if an individual is just fat without diabetes, no cholesterol and no high blood pressure then one is not at an increased risk. However other studies found that even ten to fifteen pounds of excess weight can raise ones risk.

Does having a pot belly increase ones risk of heart disease?

As compared to being fat all over, having a pot belly increases ones risk of heart disease. Many women have fat on their hips and thighs which is not associated with increased risk. Whereas pot bellies (visceral fat) on men or women are linked with heart disease. People with pot bellies often also have high insulin and high blood sugar levels, which also contribute to heart disease.

Can thin people also develop high cholesterol or atherosclerosis?

Losing weight alone does help to reduce risk of heart disease if there are other risk factors associated with obesity. If one is able to lose weight and is able to keep it off one may be able to eliminate all the risk factors mentioned. To reverse late onset diabetes and high triglycerides, losing weight is probably the only thing that is needed. And losing just five to ten pounds can double the reduction one will see in LDL cholesterol in a low saturated fat diet.

Overweight people are about twice as likely as thin people to have high cholesterol. Thin people can also have high cholesterol. This is usually the result of an inherited abnormality in cholesterol metabolism, which can make their high cholesterol more difficult than usual to treat.

Tips for High Cholesterol Levels

1. As you get 20 years old, you must get your blood test done every 5-6 years. You should check your cholesterol levels in blood at every 5-6 years. Desirable total cholesterol levels is 200 or less than that, in-case if your levels of cholesterol goes more than 240 then you have higher risk of getting a heart diseases like heart attack.

2. You should always do your blood test in a laboratory. Rapid available in market have low reliability.

3. The cholesterol in your body blood can differ, from day to the day, in over 20 to 40 points, it all depends on what food you have eaten. You should consult your doctor if you get high cholesterol levels.

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Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: obesity, cholesterol levels, health, over weight and cholesterol, home remedies, wellness, fitness