Obesity increases heart failure risk but weight loss can reverse it, study finds

The number of people with obesity — having excessive fat deposits and a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 — continues to increase around the world. Now, more than 16% of all adults worldwide are living with the condition.

In the United States, the National Institutes of Health reports that 42.4% (2 in 5) of all adults have obesity. Heart failure — where the heart does not circulate blood efficiently — is more common in people with obesity than those of a healthy weight.

One study found that obesity doubled the risk of heart failure; another that obesity is a factor that causes both heart failure and death from heart failure. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) — a condition where the heart pumps normally, but does not fill properly because the heart muscle stiffens — accounts for around half of all cases of heart failure, and is more common in people with obesity than other types of heart failure.