Is weight loss worth the hunger?
What weight should I be to prevent a heart attack?
Karl Malone was a professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz in the 1990s. He weighed a whopping 290 pounds and was 6 feet 9 inches. He also was “ripped” according to my teenage sons. Mr. Malone had muscles you didn’t know existed in a human body. But Mr. Malone was obese according to the body mass index (BMI) chart. Nothing could have been further from the truth as Mr. Malone only had 7% body fat. Most men have about 18-24% body fat depending on the amount of bacon they’ve had for breakfast.
What’s your point?
My point is that common measures such as body weight or body mass index (BMI) aren’t the most reliable indicators to determine your risk of having a heart attack.
I’m curious, how do I figure out my BMI?
You can calculate your BMI here to give yourself some idea about where you fit in (Har!):
Underweight: <18
Normal weight: 18-25
Overweight: 25-30
Obese: 30-35
Morbidly obese: >35
You eat way to many twinkies: >40
You are a human twinkie: >45
Might need a crane to get out of your house: >75
Call the Guinness Book of World Records: >204
If you are are in the overweight or higher categories, you have something in common with 75% of Americans.
Is there a BMI that puts one at danger of having a heart attack?
Is there a better measure than BMI?
Yes. Measuring your BMI does not differentiate between muscle and fat – like in the example of Karl Malone. However, I guarantee that most people don’t have Karl Malone’s “problem.”
So what should we measure?
Your % body fat is probably the best measure however this needs an expert or expensive equipment to determine. Probably the better measurement over BMI to determine your risk of a heart attack is to measure the biggest part of your belly (also affectionately known as the paunch, pot belly, spare tire, middle-age spread, beer belly). It’s also a sign of furniture disease when your chest falls into your drawers. . . never mind.
What’s a bad waist size?
One study out of Sweden showed that a waist size <37 inches in men was associated with less heart disease. In a study out of the Cooper Clinic in Texas, men with a waist size of <36 inches had the lowest risk of a heart attack. In women, once the waist circumference exceeded 30 inches, heart attack risk also increased. Recommendations from national societies suggest keeping your waist size below 40 inches in a man and 35 inches in a woman.
Why does being overweight cause heart disease?
The first of two reasons is that people with excess weight are more likely to be diabetic, have higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol, not exercise, eat poorly, have more inflammation in their bodies, and be more likely to form blood clots. The second reason is that a high amount of body fat may be directly toxic to the heart or causing it to work too hard. One study showed that the more obese a person was the more likely they were to have circulating markers of a heart attack in their blood.
Does losing weight prevent heart attacks?
Yes, when you lose it INTENTIONALLY. One study looked at over 35,000 heart attack patients who were considered obese (average BMI 30). People who intentionally lost weight by eating better and exercising reduced their chance of having a heart attack in the future.
Here’s the key though: It was probably the CHANGE in diet and exercise that led to the reduced chance of having a heart attack. Weight loss was the outcome of the lifestyle changes.
If you don’t have heart disease, does losing weight prevent heart attacks?
Weight loss of even 5-10% leads to positive changes like lower blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure. For example an overweight 200 pound woman needs to lose 10 pounds to lower her heart attack risk. If she lost 20 pounds or more, her risk of a heart attack would drop even more.
Can weight loss be dangerous for your heart?
Summarize it for me Doc.
The absence of belly fat is the ideal. I would seek to have a waist size at least less than 40 inches in a man and less than 35 inches in a woman. I would lose weight by eating right and being active. Losing weight intentionally will lessen your heart attack risk whether you’ve had a heart attack or not. Maintain a steady weight as yo-yo dieting is harmful.