Study: Obese Adults Far More Likely to Suffer Blood Clots

Obese adults are more likely to suffer from dangerous blood clots than their thinner peers, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Researchers included 19,293 adults without a previous history of blood clots (venous thromboembolism) in their eight-year study of cardiovascular risk factors and risk of venous thromboembolism.

People with the highest body mass index (BMI) were nearly 2.5 times more likely to develop blood clots than people with a lower BMI, according to the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Also, the study found that adults with diabetes were nearly twice as prone to blood clots. Men, blacks and the elderly were also more likely to develop blood clots. People at least 85 years old were 15 times more likely to have blood clots than those ages 45 to 54.

Other sources: Archives of Internal Medicine