Cardiology clinics
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Obesity is a chronic metabolic disorder associated with CVD and increased morbidity and mortality. When the BMI is > or = 30 kg/m2, mortality rates from all causes, and especially CVD, are increased by 50% to 100%. There is strong evidence that weight loss in overweight and obese individuals improves risk factors for diabetes and CVD. ⋯ However, the use of physical activity as a method to lose weight seems inversely related to patients' age and BMI and directly related to the level of education. Thus, public health interventions helping these groups to become physically active remain a challenge and further emphasize the importance of the one-on-one interaction between the clinician/health care professional with the obese individual "at risk" of CVD. This notion is critical, as it has been shown that less than half of obese adults have reported being advised to lose weight under the guidance of health care professionals.