No man who is fat is truly healthy over the long term, a new study finds.
That assessment is based on research that has followed almost 1,800 men, starting at age 50, for 30 years, recording those who died or had a cardiovascular problem such as a heart attack or stroke.
Previous studies found no increased cardiovascular risk in obese men who did not have the metabolic syndrome, giving rise to the notion that there was a "healthy obesity." But the new report indicates that those studies didn't follow the participants long enough. Problems only become more evident after 15 years or so.
The study found that over the 30-year period, the risk of cardiovascular disease was 52 percent higher in overweight men without metabolic syndrome, 74 percent higher in overweight men with metabolic syndrome, 95 percent higher in obese men without metabolic syndrome and 155 percent higher in obese men with metabolic syndrome.