Underweight: riskier for the heart than overweight

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.

It is well known that overweight people are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases. But even those who are too thin risk their heart health. This is especially true for people under 40 years of age.

The number of overweight people keeps increasing. Hence, they are the focus of medical interest. Because with the extra pounds, the risk of various diseases also increases.

Researchers at Donghwi Park at Daegu Fatima Hospital in Korea have turned their attention to the other end of the weight scale: people who are too thin. They found that being underweight has an even greater impact on heart health than being overweight.

Underweight: BMI of less than 18.5

The scientists had evaluated the data from half a million Americans. Depending on their body mass index (BMI), they divided the participants into different weight groups. Anyone who has a BMI of less than 18.5 is considered underweight. Normal weight is between 18.5 and 24.9 with a BMI. If you are overweight, the BMI is between 25 and 29.9. A BMI of 30 is considered obese.

The analyzes showed that the underweight had an almost 20 percent higher risk of stroke, heart attack or coronary heart disease (CHD). For overweight people the risk was increased by 50 percent, for obese people by almost 100 percent.

24 percent higher heart risk

When the researchers adjusted the figures for possible cardiac stress factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, old age, high blood lipid levels, smoking and lack of exercise, the picture changed again: for the underweight, the risk was increased by 24 percent, for the obese by 15 Percent. For participants who were only overweight, no association could be established regardless of additional risk factors. So body fat alone is not the problem. “Underweight, on the other hand, seems to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” the authors write.

Not enough muscles, not enough nutrients

There are several possible explanations for why being underweight puts a strain on the heart. One reason could be the low muscle mass of underweight people. Because muscle work can compensate for harmful processes in the body and break down messenger substances that promote disease such as cortisol, high blood sugar levels or excessive blood lipid levels. If the muscle mass is low, the health-promoting effect of exercise is less noticeable.

Another factor could be that underweight people are often malnourished. A lack of cardiovascular micronutrients such as certain vitamins or minerals could increase the cardiovascular risk.

Young, underweight - sick?

The connection between underweight and cardiovascular diseases became particularly clear in younger people: For those under 40 years of age, the risk of heart attack or stroke was more than twice as high as for people of normal weight of this age.

This is all the more worrying as younger people are more likely to be underweight - especially young women. In the age group from 18 to 19 years, 12.5 percent of women are underweight. 9.4 percent of women aged 20 to 24 years. On average, three percent of women and one percent of men in this country are too thin.

Tags:  digital health pregnancy menopause