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Obesity and the heart: redefinition of the relationship

G Iacobellis1, A M Sharma

  • 1Department of Medicine, Michael G deGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, ON, Canada. gianluca@cardio.on.ca

Obesity Reviews : an Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
|January 11, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Obesity can cause cardiac changes even without other health issues. Redefining obesity using waist-to-hip ratio may better identify cardiovascular risks than body mass index.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Metabolic Health
  • Obesity Medicine

Background:

  • Obesity is a known cardiovascular risk factor.
  • However, not all obese individuals have poor cardio-metabolic profiles or outcomes.
  • Excess fat, even without comorbidities (uncomplicated obesity), can induce cardiac adaptations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight uncomplicated obesity as a distinct clinical entity.
  • To emphasize the need for careful consideration and follow-up of uncomplicated obesity.
  • To advocate for a redefinition of obesity based on regional fat distribution.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent studies on obesity and cardiac health.
  • Analysis of adaptive cardiac morphological and functional changes in uncomplicated obesity.
  • Comparison of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiac modifications in metabolically healthy vs. unhealthy obese subjects.

Main Results:

  • Uncomplicated obesity can lead to significant cardiac morphological and functional changes.
  • Metabolically healthy individuals show a lower prevalence of cardiac modifications and risk factors.
  • Current obesity definitions (e.g., body mass index) may not fully capture cardiovascular risk.

Conclusions:

  • Uncomplicated obesity is a clinically relevant condition requiring monitoring.
  • Regional fat distribution indices (e.g., waist-to-hip ratio) may be superior to BMI for defining obesity and assessing risk.
  • A redefinition of obesity is warranted to better identify individuals at risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

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