Obesity alone does not increase the risk of heart disease

Although obesity is an important risk factor for heart disease, insulin resistance plays a more important role in it, and insulin resistance is a precursor to diabetes. Researchers found that if insulin resistance was not present, simple obesity did not increase the risk of heart disease. In contrast, individuals with a normal body mass index but resistant to insulin were at higher risk of heart disease. The study results were published in the September 4 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association. Insulin resistance develops when the sensitivity of human cells to blood sugar regulating hormones in the body decreases. Normally, the body secretes insulin to lower blood sugar levels and store it in cells to provide energy. But obesity often reduces the sensitivity of cells to insulin, forcing the body to secrete more insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels. Elevating blood sugar levels over a long period of time increases the risk of heart disease.

Gerald M. Dr. Reaven said: "The increased risk of heart disease associated with obesity is not related to obesity itself, but because the fatter a person is, the more likely he is to develop insulin resistance." Therefore, doctors should understand that obesity and insulin resistance are both risk factors for heart disease. Only those individuals who are overweight and resistant to insulin can reduce the risk of heart disease by losing weight. Individuals with normal weight but resistant to insulin should participate in more physical exercise.

More than 300 healthy volunteers received regular blood sugar tests to evaluate their sensitivity to insulin. The test was to measure the remaining blood sugar levels in the subjects 'blood after drinking sugary drinks or injecting glucose solution. Volunteers were divided into normal weight group BMI based on their body mass index (Internship Editor: Zheng Yanjun)