Excess Fat Can Save Women From Heart Disease Linked Death, Claims Study
Researchers stated that women who had a high muscle mass and low body fat weren¡¯t massively protected from heart-disease related death compared to those with low body fat and low muscle mass.
High body fat is often linked with poor cardiac health with more susceptibility to heart conditions.
However, a new study has now revealed that women with higher levels of body fat are actually less likely to die from heart disease compared to those women with less fat.
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This is according to a study conducted by endocrinologist Preethi Srikanthan from the University of California, Los Angeles and her team (published in Journal of the American Heart Association). They analysed data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2004 on body composition and cardiovascular disease among 11,463 adults aged over 20 years old.
Fat research study in women
The researchers split the subjects into four groups depending on their body composition -- from low body fat and low muscle mass, low body fat and high muscle mass, high fat and low muscle mass and high fat and high muscle mass.
For each of this group, the researchers then tried to figure out the rate of mortality from heart disease. They discovered that the rate of heart-disease related deaths in women with both high body fat and high muscle mass was 42 percent lower than women with low body fat and low muscle mass.
Researchers further stated that women who had a high muscle mass and low body fat weren¡¯t massively protected from heart-disease related death compared to those with low body fat and low muscle mass.
On the other hand, the situation for men was drastically different. Even though high muscle mass and high body fat decreased the risk of death from heart disease by 26 percent, when compared with low fat and muscle mass, having high muscle mass and low body fat decreased this risk by a considerable 60 percent.
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Researchers state in the paper, ¡°Higher muscle mass is associated with lower cardiovascular disease and mortality in men and women. However, in women, high fat, regardless of muscle mass level, appears to be associated with lower cardiovascular disease mortality risk This finding highlights the importance of muscle mass in healthy men and women for cardiovascular disease risk prevention while suggesting sexual dimorphism with respect to the cardiovascular disease risk associated with fat mass.¡±
They concluded stating, ¡°This diverges from the current emphasis on weight loss in CVD prevention and thus methods to practically achieve such body composition alteration need to be further evaluated.¡±
But fats are still bad
Even though this study shows that excess body and muscle fat doesn't translate to poor cardiac health, there have been studies in the past that have showcased the effects of too many fats on our health. Studies have shown that more people die more due to not eating healthy compared to people who smoke as people focussing on trans-fat, sugar-loaded or meat-only diets don¡¯t get the necessary nutrients that the body needs to function healthily.
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Another study involving 44,000 individuals for over 8 years revealed how consuming processed and junk food increased the risk of death. For adults above the age of 45, every 10 percent increase of ultra-processed foods in their diet directly correlated with a 14 percent increased risk of early death.