Tuesday October 14, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Of those who had heart attacks, obese people suffered the cardiovascular event much earlier than those with normal body weight, according to a new study published in the Sep 16, 2008 issue of Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
 
Also obese people who had heart attacks faced worse implications than those with normal weight including the need for hospitalization, cardiac procedure, and development of heart failure, medical disability and premature death, coauthor Dr. Peter A. McCullough was cited by Reuters as saying.

Looking at data from more than 111,000 patients who suffered a heart attack, McCullough and colleagues from William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan found the leanest patients had their first heart attack at an average age of 74.6 compared while the most obese patients had the event at 58.7 years.

Compared to those with normal body weight, individuals with body mass index between 30.1 and 35.0 had first heart attack 6.8 years earlier and those who had BMI greater than 40 had the event 12.0 years earlier.   Even those who were overweight with their BMI between 26.1 and 30.0 had their first heart attack 3.5 years earlier.