When we are trying to lose, one of the main reasons we hear is that patients want to be ‘this size’ or lose ‘this amount’ or weigh ‘this much’.
Much of the reasoning behind joining an online weight loss programme is formed because we want to look slimmer and feel better.
But one of the main reasons we love to see patients looking after their weight and their health is the reduction in strain and pressure that their heart is under.
This World Heart Day, we wanted to take a few minutes to show you the incredible difference you can make to your heart, simply by losing weight.
So, whilst it might not be the main reason you come to us, improving your heart health is an incredibly important side effect to your hard-earned weight loss.
Shocking Statistics
Frighteningly, heart diseases cause approximately 1 in 4 deaths in the UK and account for about 160,000 deaths per year – this is equivalent to a heart disease related death every 3 minutes.
Additionally, the vast majority of risk factors for deaths from heart disease are almost entirely preventable – this list contains some of the main reasons we can develop heart disease:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- High Cholesterol
- Overweight/Obesity
- Poor Diet
- Lack of Exercise
How many of these can you say that you currently suffer from?
We know that a lot of these can be influenced, and you can make a difference – particularly if you are overweight and carrying excess fat.
How Does Fat Affect Our Heart?
When you carry excess fat, it can lead to fat building up in your arteries. If your arteries are damaged or blocked by that fat, it can lead to you having a heart attack.
We also know that the heavier you are, the harder your heart has to work in order to supply blood, oxygen and nutrients to your body.
This is where the heart has to apply more pressure to move your blood around and in turn, causes high blood pressure.
We also know that consistently high blood pressure damages your heart and again, can lead to heart attack or stroke.
But it is not all doom and gloom when it comes to excess body fat and your heart health, as where you carry it can be as important as how much excess fat you have.
Can Your Body Shape Affect Your Heart?
In fact, we do actually need some body fat to be healthy, and often the fat we find at the surface (that you can pinch and prod!) is just that – surface fat (or subcutaneous fat to give it its official name).
But when we have too much fat, this is when we run the risk of developing heart disease, particularly if you hold it around your middle and are classed as ‘apple’ shaped.
The type of fat you carry around your middle is called visceral fat and cannot be seen or pinched or prodded, but it surrounds our vital organs.
If we carry a lot of fat in around our middle, so around our vital organs, this will increase our chances of developing issues with our heart.
Carrying a lot of visceral fat can increase your chances of having:
- Raised cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 Diabetes
Which we know from above, can lead to further heart damage and disease.
However, people who are classed as ‘pear’ shaped – so the surface fat is often found on thighs or bottoms – tend to have a lower risk of developing heart disease.
It is still important to be wary that carrying any amount of excess fat will put strain on your heart and can lead to high blood pressure and other circulatory issues.
So How Will Losing Weight Help Your Heart?
Simply put, by losing weight, you’ll be taking a pressure off your heart!
By losing just 10% of your body weight, it will reduce the work your heart has to do and will help reduce your risk of developing the heart conditions we have talked about.
In fact, in a study undertaken by Washington University, researchers put patients on a weight loss programme and the results showed that weight loss improved how efficiently their heart was pumping, it’s ability to relax, the thickness of the heart muscle tissue and the thickness of the artery walls.
It also found that in follow up, despite some participants having regained a little of the weight they had lost, they had still retained the healthier heart benefits that they had experienced during the study.
How Can You Be Heart Healthy?
Being heart healthy is actually relatively simple and ties in really easily with adopting a healthier lifestyle.
The main things you can do to improve your heart health is:
- Do physical activity – about 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week
- Manage your weight – losing just 10 – 15% of your body weight can have a positive effect on your heart health
- Cut out saturated fats – Choose leaner protein sources and lower-fat dairy items. Try and get your fats from sources like oily fish, nuts and seeds.
- Get 5 a day – You should aim to eat at least 5 different varieties of fruit and vegetables a day.
- Cut down on salt – Many food-stuffs already contain high levels of sodium, so be sure to check labels. If you’re cooking from scratch – reduce the amount of salt you add to meals.
- Moderate alcohol intake – Many alcohols are high in calories and can cause unnecessary weight gain.
- Moderate caffeine – Caffeine is a stimulant and can put more pressure on your heart.
Get Healthy – Reduce Your Risk
Fortunately, not all heart disease is a foregone conclusion if you are overweight or obese, and you can take positive steps towards reducing your risk of developing it.
The key is understanding your health, well-being and moderating your lifestyle! When was the last time you checked your BMI? Having a raised BMI could identify you as being at risk of heart disease! Why not try our FREE BMI calculator now?