Control Blood Pressure, Cholesterol Levels To Cut Down Heart Diseases by Half Among Obese People

Obese people should control their blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol levels in order to cut down the risk of cardiac diseases by half, a latest study states.

The researchers analyzed 97 studies conducted across the world. Obesity increases the risk of heart diseases and stroke along with diabetes and various cancers.

Every year almost 3.4 million global deaths due to obesity are reported.

According to the study, high blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose can increase the risk of cardiac diseases by half, stroke risk by three quarters among obese people. It can also increase the risk of high blood pressure that builds up the chances of heart disease by 3 percent and stroke risk by 65 percent.

"Controlling hypertension, cholesterol, and diabetes will be an essential but partial and temporary response to the obesity epidemic," said study co-author professor Majid Ezzati, Imperial College London.

"We know that diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. However, this research goes further by showing that, for overweight or obese people, these factors explain up to half the increased heart disease risk and three-quarters of the increased stroke risk," Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at British Heart Foundation, said, according to Huffington Post.

"Regardless of your weight, it's important to keep an eye on your lifestyle and do your bit to cut your risk. By stopping smoking, keeping as active as possible and maintaining healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels, you can help keep your heart healthy. If you're over 40, you can ask your GP for a free heart health check. Some risk factors, such as high blood pressure, don't have any obvious symptoms, so the only way to know if you've got it is to get checked out," Maddock explained

The research was published in the medical journal, 'The Lancet.