Scientists from Karolinska Institute found that body weight in young people has a greater impact on future cardiovascular disease risk than activity level. The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
Many observational studies have previously shown that lifestyle choices (diet, activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking) early in life affect cardiovascular risk later in life. However, such scientific studies could not prove the existence of a cause-effect relationship because genetic factors and environmental conditions were not taken into account.
In the new study, researchers used data from more than one million men followed for 60 years. Almost half of them were full siblings, which allowed the authors of the work to take into account the influence of heredity. The results showed that greater body weight in late adolescence was strongly associated with future cardiovascular disease, even after controlling for other factors.
The association of physical activity with cardiovascular diseases was much weaker. This suggests that many previous studies may have overestimated the importance of adolescents’ physical fitness for cardiovascular health later in life.
“This doesn’t mean fitness isn’t important. “We could still see an association between activity and health, although it was weaker after controlling for factors common to full siblings,” said Victor Ahlqvist, a doctoral student at the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet and co-author of the study.
The key finding of the study is that, of all the factors examined, high BMI increases the risk of cardiovascular disease the most. Therefore, efforts to combat the obesity epidemic should be prioritized, the authors say.
Previous scientists I learnedIt is stated that training at the wrong time of the day can accelerate the destruction of joints and bones.