This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 27/8/1811    most recent ATVBAHA.107.141853v1 Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Williams, P. T. Articles by La, I. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Williams, P. T. Articles by La, I. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Cholesterol Diabetes High Blood Pressure

(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2007;27:1811.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.

Atherosclerosis and Lipoproteins

Weight-Related Increases in Hypertension, Hypercholesterolemia, and Diabetes Risk in Normal Weight Male and Female Runners

Paul T. Williams; Kathryn Hoffman; Isabelle La

From the Donner Laboratory, Life Sciences Division, Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif.

Correspondence to Paul T. Williams, PhD, Donner Laboratory, Life Sciences Division, Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720. E-mail ptwilliams{at}lbl.gov

Background— Although 36% of US men and 42% of US women are of normal weight, the health implications of greater weight in ostensibly normal-weight individuals are seldom acknowledged.

Methods and Results— Self-reported physician-diagnosed incident diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension were compared with adult body mass index (BMI), and body circumferences in 29 139 male and 11 985 female nonsmoking runners followed prospectively for 7.7 and 7.4 years, respectively. Included among these were 20 731 men and 11 197 women who were of normal weight at baseline (BMI <25 kg/m²). During follow-up, 2342 men (8.53%) and 499 women (4.26%) became hypertensive, 3330 men (12.2%) and 599 women (5.14%) were diagnosed with high cholesterol, and 197 men (0.68%) and 28 women (0.23%) became diabetic. Increasing BMI and waist circumference at baseline significantly increased the log odds for normal-weight men becoming hypertensive (P<0.0001), hypercholesterolemic (P<0.0001), and diabetic (P<0.02), and for normal-weight women becoming hypertensive (P=0.05). The log odds for being diagnosed with high cholesterol also increased with baseline BMI in normal-weight women (P<0.05). Relative to men with BMI <20 kg/m², the odds for being diagnosed with hypertension or high cholesterol increased by 45% (P=0.05) and 64% (P=0.002), respectively, for those with 20BMI<22.5 kg/m², and by 121% (P<0.0001) and 135% (P<0.0001), respectively, for those with 22.5BMI<25 kg/m². The odds for women with 22.5BMI<25 kg/m² developing hypertension or high cholesterol were 33% (P=0.02) and 29% (P=0.03) higher, respectively, than for women with 20BMI<22.5 kg/m², and 64% (P=0.0007) and 41% (P=0.008) higher, respectively, than women with BMI <20 kg/m². Relative to men and women with BMI <22.5 kg/m², the odds for developing diabetes during follow-up increased by 119% (P=0.009) and 116% (P=0.17), respectively, for those with 22.5BMI<25 kg/m².

Conclusions— Greater BMI and larger waist circumference increase the risks for hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes even among normal-weight nonsmoking runners, although overall risks remain relatively low vis-a-vis those for the overweight or obese.

Even among normal-weight physically-active individuals (BMI <25 kg/m²), increasing BMI and waist circumference significantly increased the odds for hypertension (P<0.0001), hypercholesterolemia (P<0.0001), and diabetes (P<0.02) in men, and hypertension in women (P=0.05). The odds for being diagnosed with high cholesterol also increased significantly with increasing BMI in women <25 kg/m².

Key Words: hypertension • hypercholesterolemia • diabetes • exercise

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. T. Williams Prospective Study of Incident Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Relation to Vigorous Physical Activity during a 7-Year Follow-up Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., January 1, 2009; 50(1): 101 - 106. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. T. Williams Changes in Vigorous Physical Activity and Incident Diabetes in Male Runners Diabetes Care, November 1, 2007; 30(11): 2838 - 2842. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]