Study shows: Fat people are not necessarily doomed to heart attacks and strokes

The results also indicated that short-term obesity is not associated with an increased risk of heart disease or stroke.

According to Prof. Turchin, this means: “Obesity at a certain point in time does not seal a person’s fate.”

“If obesity is treated early, complications can be prevented.”

Professor Turchin said that while it is known that being overweight increases the risk of a number of diseases, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes, studies have not shown whether how long someone has been obese makes a difference.

Earlier treatment means better results

He said the results of his study were important because they showed that the earlier younger people were treated for obesity, the better their health.

Prof. Turchin and his team, which also included researchers from the US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, examined data from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) – both conducted in the USA.

The study included 109,259 women and 27,239 men who had an average age of 48.6 years and a body mass index (BMI) of 27 at the start of the study.

The team focused on those who had a BMI above 25 at least once during the 10-year period between 1990 and 1999.

Their goal was to find out how a person’s weight affected their risk of heart attack or stroke over the next 20 years (2000–2020).

During the study period, 6,862 people developed plaque buildup in their arteries and 3,587 people developed type 2 diabetes.

A follow-up study in 2020 found that there were 12,048 cardiovascular events – such as heart attacks, strokes or related deaths.