Yo-Yo Dieting Can Hurt Older Heart
A University
of Michigan study has linked yo-yo dieting to heart problems in post-menopausal
women.
The study shows
gaining or losing 10 or pounds in a year five or more times in a lifetime
ups the risk of cardiovascular problems, which also are exacerbated by
high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and smoking.
Cardiologist
Dr. Claire Duvernoy and her team looked at how fluctuating weight affected
blood flow to the heart and the lining of the blood vessels. They found
post-menopausal yo-yo dieters were much more likely to have reduced myocardial
blood flow, regardless of current weight.
"So, even if
a woman in our study was now thin, getting there by yo-yo dieting was shown
to have a negative affect on the blood flow to her heart," said Duvernoy,
director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at the VA/Ann Arbor
Healthcare System and assistant professor of internal medicine/cardiology
at the U-M Medical School.
"This is important
because reduced blood flow to the heart could be an indication of a blockage
in coronary arteries or in the small blood vessels of the heart, which
could eventually trigger a heart attack or stroke."
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