Obesity for the longest time have been linked to variety of heart related ailments, according to a latest study published in the journal of the American Heart Association, the statistics are particularly more alarming for women. The study noted that women with larger waist and hip circumference are more prone to heart attack.
For the study, the researchers examined data on 479,610 adults in England, Scotland and Wales. At the start, participants ranged in age from 40 to 69, with an average age of 56. The participants were typically overweight, but did not have any history of heart disease. However after an average follow-up of seven years as many as 5,710 people suffered heart attacks.
The risk was found to be particularly higher for women who had an unusually large waist circumference or a high waist-to-hip ratio. They were found to be more prone to the risk than men who have similar apple shape.
While it is well established that obesity is one of the risk factors, the study provides a more specific insight into the specific fat accumulation in various parts of the body and its direct impact on heart.
Obesity is a condition characterized by excessive body fat. In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight. Of these over 600 million, or 13 percent of the global population, were obese. About 3.4 million people die each year due to overweight and obesity.
Obesity could up the risk of heart disease, diabetes, joint disorders and certain cancers.
Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Rupali Datta who was not part of the study, tells us that "there is a strong co-relation between belly fat and cardiovascular diseases. We have heard of apple and pear-shaped bodies. Those who are apple shaped have a considerable body weight around the abdominal area and are at a higher risk of developing cardio-vascular diseases." This is because visceral fat is more active and brings with it the risk of inflammation which causes diabetes, and coronary artery disease.
One of the limitations of the study was that it was not a controlled experiment. Which means, that it was not designed to determine how weight or the distribution of fat on the body might cause a heart attack. Another limitation of the study was that all the participants were white. The results may differ for people in different races or ethnic groups.
Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Rupali Dutta gives out a few pointers that are a must to follow for a perfect obesity diet.
1. Swap refined carb sources for whole grains. A whole grain is a grain of any cereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. A whole grain manages to retain all the nutrients that are processed in the refining. Stock up on whole grains like bajra, ragi, maize and jowar and use them often. Try red, black and brown rice instead of white rice .You can use these whole grains for breakfast porridges.
2. Just like grains, whole dals are also a better bet than the washed dals. Rajma, and chana dals are some of the healthiest dals you can fill up your shelves with. You can cook them, have them in sprouts or in soups.
3. Avoid red meat and opt for lean meat like chicken and salmon. Adding protein with every meal could prove to be a game changer for anyone trying to lose weight.
4. Stay away from trans fats as they are one of the biggest culprits of growing instances of obesity globally. Fast food, instant food, fried junk, cookies, pasta, burger and noodles- these trans-fats are spread all across us.
5. Sugar intake should be less than 10% of your total calories; for a normal weight woman who needs 1900Kcal/day, this is about 10 -11 teaspoons of sugar. Below 5% would be better. A lot of foods have natural sugar hidden in them too, so one has to be mindful of that as well.