Awhile back, a number of studies came out showing that people who were a few pounds overweight but still physically active had less risk of developing heart disease than people who were of normal weight but inactive.

These findings lead some doctors to think that if a heavy person has normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol and normal blood glucose levels – they are healthy and there is no reason they should have to lose weight. Before you relax your weight loss efforts, take head to new research from the American Heart Association journal, Circulation.

In studying overweight and normal men with or without other heart disease risk factors, Swedish researchers found that being overweight with no other risk factors leaves you at significantly higher risk for heart disease than if, with the same risks, you were not overweight.

On average, the obese men without so-called metabolic syndrome weighed 220 pounds and accrued a 95 percent increase in heart disease risk just because of their weight. Overweight men who averaged 180 pounds still had a 52 percent higher risk of heart disease than their slimmer peers even though their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels were normal.

Clearly, body weight is emerging as an independent risk factor for heart disease – and you don’t have to be really heavy to be bumping up your risk. Obesity, like heart disease, is a medical condition which requires medical attention. If you are concerned about your weight and how it’s affecting your health, talk to your doctor about an effective, long-term solution like gastric banding.