Contents:
- Medical Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Why skinny doesn't always mean heart-healthy
- Cardiovascular disease in people who are too thin is more at risk of death
- Why are individuals with less weight still able to contract cardiovascular disease?
- 1. Congenital heart disease
- 2. Lack of physical activity
- 3. Thin body with an unhealthy diet
- 4. Fat around the stomach
- 5. Lack of serum Hb levels
Medical Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Why skinny doesn't always mean heart-healthy
Many think that cardiovascular disease or heart and blood vessel disease is a disease that is only experienced by people who are overweight. In fact, cardiovascular disease is influenced by many causes besides obesity. Therefore, it is possible for people with less weight to experience it.
Less weight or what is known as underweight is a term for an individual's weight that does not match an individual's height. Individuals are said to have less weight if the body mass index (BMI) value is below 18.5 kg / m2. Individuals with less weight can be caused by nutritional factors, disease infections, or genetics.
Keep in mind that more weight and obesity are not the only cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular disease is generally caused by an unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking, lack of physical activity, consumption of fat, and high salt. As a result, cause high blood pressure and accumulation of fat around blood vessels and the heart.
Cardiovascular disease in people who are too thin is more at risk of death
Many recent studies show that cardiovascular disease is also experienced by individuals who have less weight and even have a higher risk than individuals with normal BMI values. One of the studies in Bali showed that individuals with less weight were 3.6 times more at risk of coronary heart disease than individuals with normal weight.
In the case of coronary artery disease, individuals weighing less have an earlier risk of death than normal and over weight. Research in 2013 showed women with coronary artery disease had doubled their early mortality.
The study also showed that individuals with more weight and no weight gain, the risk of experiencing coronary artery death decreased by 64%. While individuals with less weight and weight loss, the risk of death will increase by two-fold.
Why are individuals with less weight still able to contract cardiovascular disease?
The following are some of the causes that allow a person to remain at risk of experiencing cardiovascular disease with less weight
1. Congenital heart disease
Is a congenital disease from birth that is characterized by weak heart function due to disturbances in the walls, valves, and heart arteries. Based on the results of the study, individuals with congenital heart disease and body weight did not increase their risk 12 times to experience cardiovascular disease. This shows that the influence of congenital heart disease will be greater for individuals who have less weight.
2. Lack of physical activity
There is a tendency for physical inactivity in individuals who have thin or low body weight. Physical activity is an effort to prevent cardiovascular disease by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease by 40%. Conversely, lack of physical activity can cause an increase in fat in the blood which can eventually cause cardiovascular disease.
3. Thin body with an unhealthy diet
It's easy to have less weight and have unhealthy food habits. Individuals with thin bodies tend not to worry about eating fast food and make no effort to compensate for it. Even though the body weight includes less, blood sugar and LDL levels can still increase.
4. Fat around the stomach
This is also known as central obesity and can be experienced by individuals with less weight. Compared to spread of fat accumulation, fat around the abdomen is more at risk of causing cardiovascular disease earlier than ordinary obesity.
5. Lack of serum Hb levels
One condition that causes heart disease is less serum hemoglobin (Hb). This condition is also greater in people experiencing less weight. This was proven by a study in 2015 in Ethiopia which showed that Hb levels significantly affected heart failure and normal serum Hb conditions reduced the risk of heart failure by 23%.
Weight loss is not the only cause for cardiovascular disease. The health condition of the body and the balance of intake and physical activity are things that need to be considered in maintaining the health of the heart and blood vessels of both individuals who are underweight, normal weight, or overweight.
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