Study: Obesity in Teen Years Increases Cardiovascular Risk

Obesity in the teen years increases the risk of women developing cardiovascular disease, according to researchers..

Dr. Tom Kimball, director of echocardiography at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told the American College of Cardiology meeting in Atlanta that left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) a thickening of the heart wall, can begin in late teen years.

"We found that LVH and an enlarged heart can begin as early as the teen years, and that weight appears to play a major role in this change in the geometry of the heart," said Kimball.

Kimball reported on a study that looked at 575 healthy young women whose average age was 19. Each was given an echocardiogram screening, and placed into one of four categories.

Some 75 percent of the women were classified as normal (heart size and wall thickness normal). Five percent had a thickened heart wall, but heart size was normal. Thirteen percent had an enlarged heart, but wall thickness was normal. Seven percent had both an enlarged heart and the wall was thick.

"We found obesity was the link to the heart abnormalities," Kimball reported. "Our study was one of the first to show that these conditions can develop as early as the teen years, and that weight appears to play a role."

Other sources: American College of Cardiology