Long-term Obesity Raises Risk for Heart Disease

Longer duration of obesity can lead to higher rates of coronary artery calcification, which is the leading predictor for heart disease, according to a new study.

Obesity can raise risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and even some cancers. According to estimates by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a third of all people living in the U.S are obese.

Young people in the U.S who are obese or overweight are already displaying other signs of heart problems such as high blood pressure. The latest study adds to the risks of health problems that young people are likely to suffer in the future.

"Recent studies have shown that the duration of overall obesity is associated with higher rates of diabetes and mortality independent of the degree of adiposity. However, few studies have determined the cardiovascular consequences of long-term obesity," said study co-author Cora E. Lewis, M.D., professor in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine, according to a press release.

In the study, researchers tracked calcium build up in the heart arteries of over 3,000 people aged 18 to 30 years.  None of the participants were obese during the mid 80s, when the study began.

However, during the course of the study, about 40 percent of the study participants became obese and stayed obese for a long time. Researchers found that 27 percent of these people had severe symptoms of heart disease. The symptoms were worse for people who had long-term obesity.

Over 38 percent of the people who were obese for 20 years or longer had calcified arteries while 25 percent of people who weren't obese or hadn't developed severe obesity had hardened arteries, researchers found.

"We found that each year of overall or abdominal obesity beginning in early adulthood was associated with a 2-4 percent higher risk for coronary artery calcification and its progression later in life," Lewis said.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.