Many people may be interested in starting the exante very low calorie diet plan as a way of contributing to their weight loss* there are numerous obesity health risks and potentially adverse effects on the heart.

Obesity Health Risks & Effects on the Heart

Obesity is a common problem with recent research suggesting 29% of adults in England are now classified as obese (1). According to the British Heart Foundation, “Being overweight or obese can lead to many serious health conditions and can increase your risk of heart and circulatory diseases” (2).

This is worrying as a recent study has suggested heart and circulatory diseases cause more than a quarter (27%) of all deaths in England; this works out as 138,000 deaths per year - an average of 380 people each day or one death every four minutes (3).

Potential obesity effects on the heart

High blood pressure is another potential obesity effect on the heart. Blood pressure is the pressure of blood in your arteries, these are the vessels that carry blood from your heart to the rest of your body (4). Your blood pressure will naturally fluctuate throughout the day and night, and its normal for it to increase when you are moving about (4).

However, when your blood pressure is consistently high, even at rest, it can lead to heart and circulatory disease (4). High blood pressure (Hypertension) is the leading risk factor for heart and circulatory disease in England and around 50% of heart attacks and strokes are associated with high blood pressure (3).

Heart disease is an umbrella term that describes all diseases of the heart and circulation (3). However, coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of heart and circulatory disease and is a leading cause of death worldwide (3).

According to the British Heart Foundation CHD occurs when coronary arteries become narrowed by a build-up of atheroma, a fatty material within their walls (3). The build-up of atheroma makes the arteries narrower, restricting the flow of blood to the heart muscle (5). Overweight and obese individuals are more at risk of developing atherosclerosis which can lead to CHD (6).

Body mass index (BMI) is a commonly used method to assess whether you are overweight or obese.

The first step in measuring your BMI is to measure your height and weight. Once you have these values, you’ll be able to work out your BMI.

You can use exante BMI calculator here to do this.

According to the NHS (7) if your BMI is:

• below 18.5 – you're in the underweight range
• between 18.5 and 24.9 – you're in the healthy weight range
• between 25 and 29.9 – you're in the overweight range
• between 30 and 39.9 – you're in the obese range

BMI does not take into account age, gender or muscle mass meaning muscular individuals with low body fat may be classed as overweight or obese (7). Some individuals may have a healthy BMI but still have excess stomach fat meaning, meaning they still face obesity health risks, such as heart disease (7). Therefore, measuring your waist is a good way to check you aren’t carrying too much fat around your stomach.

The NHS (7) suggests following the below guidelines when measuring your waist:

1.  Find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips.
2. Wrap a tape measure around your waist midway between these points.
3. Breathe out naturally before taking the measurement.

The NHS also suggest, regardless of your height or BMI, you should try to lose weight if your waist is:

• 94cm (37ins) or more for men
• 80cm (31.5ins) or more for women

The exante 800 plan recommends 3 exante products a day, with an additional 200 calorie meal or snack. Many people have seen great weight loss succes through following this very low calorie diet plan and many people have seen through following an energy restricted diet they have lost weight.*