Obesity is associated with a broad range of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, Scottish and Australian researchers report according to Reuters. "That's a potentially huge public health problem and burden on the health care system," senior investigator Dr. John J. V. McMurray told Reuters Health. "Of course, our focus was just on cardiovascular disease and not the other problems also associated with obesity -- including cancer." The whole spectrum of cardiovascular problems related to obesity has not been evaluated in a single population-based cohort, Murray of the Western Infirmary, Glasgow, and colleagues note. To do so, starting in the early 1970s, the researchers followed more than 15,000 people, ages 45 to 64 years, from two towns in the Glasgow area. At the beginning of the study, less than half of the subjects had a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9, which is considered to be within a normal weight range. Over 2,000 had a BMI of 30 or higher, which is considered to be obese. --More 22 54 Local Time 19 54 GMT
