Obesity's Perk For the Heart

A little advice for the trim and healthy: Never be smug.

A study presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Atlanta this week adds another bit of striking evidence to what doctors call the obesity paradox — the notion that being very heavy may come with some health advantages as well as risks.

The University of Rochester researchers were looking at people with chronic heart failure who'd already had one heart attack. They found that those who were obese were much less likely to drop dead from sudden cardiac arrest than skinny, chubby, or even normal weight folks.

 

Now, it's still true that a beer belly, love handles, and other extra layers of fat boost your risk of developing diabetes, clogged arteries and high blood pressure. And if you're very fat, you're more likely to develop an enlarged, weakened heart that struggles to pump blood efficiently — the physical condition known as heart failure. But, paradoxically, in this study of more than 1,200 heart failure patients, that excess weight seemed protective against sudden death.

The researchers can't explain why at this point. But they know it's not that the skinny people in their study were skinny because they were extra sick and so would be more likely to drop dead, in any event. And even normal-weight people in the study had a higher risk of sudden death than obese patients.

"Obese patients are hard on their bodies; many don't eat right, don't exercise, and many smoke," says Eric Hansen, a medical student at the University of Rochester, and co-author of the study. "If their bodies are surviving this bad treatment, then perhaps they are better equipped, from a genetic standpoint, to live with heart failure."

Maybe. But whatever the explanation, the stakes are high. Sudden cardiac death claims about 330,000 Americans every year, and most people die within minutes. Blocked or hardened arteries or an electrical glitch in the heart are the most common triggers.

So, do take care of yourself. Exercise, eat a balanced diet, and do try to keep your weight down. But never, never be smug.