How Being Underweight or Overweight Can Endanger Your Heart

Your heart is the muscular pump that keeps your body alive, so if you’re looking for one place to focus your health-related attention, make it your heart. Any bodily extreme can stress your heart unnecessarily, putting you at risk for heart attacks and strokes. And that includes extreme weight – whether that means too much or too little.

At Comprehensive Primary Care, our dedicated team wants your heart to be as healthy as possible. If you’re overweight or underweight, we guide you toward the nutrition and activities that can help you achieve a stable, heart-healthy weight. 

February is American Heart Month, so we’re using this blog post to explain the risks of weight extremes on your heart and how you can find balance.

The risks of being overweight 

Being overweight or obese isn’t primarily an aesthetic concern. While you may be looking for weight loss treatment so you can fit into your favorite pants, it’s more important that you reduce your waist size to minimize your risk of heart disease.

Excess weight stresses both your heart and your blood vessels. The stress can trigger inflammation that leads to chronic diseases or health conditions, such as:

Heart stress and failure

When you’re overweight, your heart has to work harder to move your blood through the excess fatty tissue. Every pound of weight in your body represents 5 miles of blood vessels, so if you’re 50 pounds overweight, that’s 250 miles of extra blood vessels your heart has to pump blood through. That stress increases your risk for heart disease, including heart attacks.

Elevated cholesterol levels

Too much fat can increase your levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL or“bad” cholesterol) and lower high-density lipoproteins (HDL or “good” cholesterol). With high cholesterol, small LDL particles can cluster in your blood vessel walls, leading to plaque accumulation. The plaque narrows your arteries, making it harder for your blood to flow through.   

High blood pressure  

The combination of stress on your heart and atherosclerosis can lead to hypertension, sometimes called the “silent killer.” You may not have a single symptom related to high blood pressure, but it can kill you through heart attacks and strokes.

Type 2 diabetes

Fat produces chemicals that make your body less sensitive to insulin. When your body doesn’t respond to insulin, it can’t move the dietary sugars in your bloodstream into your cells for fuel. If sugar remains high in your bloodstream, you develop type 2 diabetes. The excess glucose can destroy your blood vessels, putting you at risk for heart disease.

The risks of being underweight 

You might feel that you’re healthy because you’re not fat. However, being significantly underweight can harm your heart health through:

Nutritional deficiencies

If you’re underweight, you may not be giving your body vital nutrients, such as protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. Without essential nutrients, your heart muscle weakens and becomes less efficient. 

Weakened immune system

Like your heart, your immune system needs sufficient minerals to stay strong and functional. When you deprive yourself of food, you undermine your immune defenses, and your body is more at risk for infections that can strain the cardiovascular system indirectly. 

Electrolyte imbalances and arrhythmia

Having a very low body weight can disturb electrolyte levels, and you may develop an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). Some types of arrhythmias can cause you to suddenly lose consciousness.

Bone loss

Having an eating disorder, such as anorexia, or being undernourished in general, increases your risk for osteoporosis. When you lose too much bone mass, your bones can break more easily. Immobility due to broken bones increases the risk of cardiovascular complications, such as blood clots. 

Balancing your weight with health

If you’re significantly overweight or underweight, the habits and drives that brought you to your current state may be difficult to break or change on your own. Partner with our team and take advantage of our weight management services. We can help you make the changes you need to attain a heart-healthy weight that improves your overall health, too. 

Eat a balanced diet of whole foods

Don’t “diet” to lose or gain weight. Instead, change your diet to have a healthy eating plan today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life. Focus on lean proteins, healthy fats, whole or fermented grains, fruits, and vegetables. Cut out highly processed foods, sugar, and alcohol. The American Heart Association recommends Mediterranean-style diets or the DASH diet for heart health.

Be more active

Get at least 150 minutes of medium-level aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise weekly. You should also engage in at least two days of strength training to build muscle, which increases strength, speeds your metabolism, and reduces your risk of falls.

Stress less, sleep more 

Chronic stress stresses your heart. If you’re under stress, you might make your weight problems worse by either overeating for comfort or restricting calories for control. Instead, try stress-relief techniques such as yoga, deep breathing, or meditation. Be sure to get the 7-9 hours of daily recommended sleep. 

Give your heart the ultimate Valentine by adopting a heart-healthy diet and lifestyle. Contact Comprehensive Primary Care today in Lawrenceville, Suwanee, or Snellville, Georgia, to get help with weight gain or loss.