Heart risk markers in adults over 40 with obesity increasingly converge with normal BMI levels

MedicalXpress | juil. 01, 2026

Over the last three decades, differences in unhealthy cholesterol levels and blood pressure between older adults with obesity and those with a normal body mass index (BMI) have narrowed or disappeared in several high-income countries, suggests a study published in The Lancet. The authors propose that this trend is due to the greater, and possibly more intensive, use of cholesterol-lowering medication (such as statins) and blood pressure medication in people older than 40 living with obesity in high-income countries.