Clinical obesity linked to higher cardiovascular disease risk
Under the new definition, people with obesity and clinical risk factors had higher cardiovascular risk than those without obesity, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.67.
Our read
Biomarkers- Studied:
- Cohort study of 14,845 participants, against the non-obese group
- What changed:
- Incident cardiovascular disease risk was higher with clinical obesity than in the non-obese group (aHR 1.67)
- The catch:
- Existing clinical conditions in the definition confounded body fat's contribution to cardiovascular risk
- Why it’s aging research:
- It bears on staying healthy in midlife and later life.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Among 14,845 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, a prospective observational analysis compared two obesity definitions against subsequent cardiovascular disease. Participants had a median age of 54; 54% were female and 26% were Black.
The newer definition combined measures of abdominal fat with clinical risk factors, including high blood pressure and diabetes. It classified 66% as having clinical obesity, versus 27% classified as obese using body mass index, a measure of weight relative to height. Clinical obesity was associated with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.67—a measure of relative risk over time—compared with the newer definition’s non-obese group. Obesity without clinical risk factors showed no excess risk; the range of likely values included no difference.
Why it matters
Cardiovascular disease prevention as people age requires identifying who is at risk. The authors argued for severity-based categories to help target interventions, while cautioning against unnecessary medicalization.
Caveats
The newer definition incorporated existing clinical conditions, so this observational comparison did not isolate body fat’s contribution to cardiovascular risk. The conference abstract did not report follow-up duration or absolute event rates.
The paper
Med College of Georgia at Augusta Univ
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 15246
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