Summary
This report presents a review of the literature evaluating the association between overweight and obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD), and whether the relationship is direct or indirect. In many instances the report examines the relationship between CVD or its metabolic risk factors and ‘excess body weight’, meaning all degrees of overweight taken as one group. This is because the literature does not always focus on traditional categories such as ‘overweight’ and ‘obesity’.
The review draws on major Australian and international studies and data to examine the relationship between excess body weight and CVD, and its major biomedical risk factors. The main findings in this report, based on the literature reviewed in these studies, are summarised in the report.
Preliminary material: Preface; Contributors; Acknowledgements
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Summary
- Evidence relating to major biomedical risk factors
- Evidence relating to cardiovascular disease
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Introduction
- Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australia
- The problem of cardiovascular disease
- Aim of this review
- Structure of the report
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Methods
- Measures of body weight
- Scope
- Literature identification
- Appraising and summarising the strength of evidence
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The association between excess body weight and other major established biomedical CVD risk factors
- Atherosclerosis
- High blood pressure
- High blood cholesterol
- Type 2 diabetes
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The association between overweight and obesity and CVD
- Overweight and obesity and risk of CVD
- Overweight and obesity and risk of specific CVDs
- Australian studies
- Relative risks
- Strength of evidence
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Conclusions
- Summary of evidence
- Further research
Appendixes
Appendix A: References
Appendix B: Lists of included studies
End Matter: Abbreviations; Glossary