Adults at high cardiovascular risk and living with overweight or obesity [1] experience a higher number of cardiovascular events (such as heart attack and stroke), are at greater risk of dying prematurely, and have considerably higher healthcare costs than those living with obesity without cardiovascular disease, according to a study in over 420,000 adults living in North-West London, being presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Dublin, Ireland (17-20 May).
Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard from Lane Clark & Peacock, London, UK, led the study together with colleagues from Novo Nordisk, Denmark, a manufacturer of diabetes and obesity medications and sponsor of the study.
"These findings illustrate the substantial impact of living with both overweight or obesity and heart and circulatory diseases on individuals, population health and healthcare systems more broadly," says Dr Pearson-Stuttard. "As the prevalence of obesity increases, so too are the frequency of obesity-related complications, such as heart disease and stroke, in this group. This increased risk of adverse outcomes can be prevented and managed through a combination of improving key risk factors such as poor diet and smoking alongside effective management of blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose. Doing so would not only improve the numbers of years lived in good health but would also reduce healthcare costs and improve economic productivity."
