The relationship between your weight and your risk of dying of heart disease is complicated. If you are overweight in spite of the fact that you exercise daily and have healthy eating habits, don’t be discouraged. You are still doing your heart good.
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| by Lori Good |
Being overweight does contribute to key heart risk factors like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, and losing even a small amount of weight may help prevent or control these risk factors. Weight loss may be the best way to lower your triglycerides and raise your “good” cholesterol (HDL).
However, an even better way to determine the effect of your weight on your risk of heart disease is to measure your waist circumference. Excess weight in your abdomen (belly) is shown to lead to diabetes, high triglyceride levels, low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
To measure your waist circumference, place a tape measure around your waist near your belly button (about 2 inches above the belly button). The tape measure should feel snug without compressing your skin. A waist circumference of great than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women indicated abdominal obesity and an increased risk for heart disease.
Exercising and eating well are two of the most important steps you can take in this new year to keep your heart healthy.
Click here to check out Lori’s previous blogs, as well as the heart blogs by our other Lancaster General Health contributors.