Puppy fat strains the heart

Just a little extra fat during the teenage years can raise the risk of heart disease in later years, according to a new study.

Scientists in London have found fat appears to be linked to less elastic blood vessels, and even teens with just a small amount of extra weight had stiffer blood vessels than those of normal weight. The heart has to work harder to pump blood through stiff blood vessels, leading to possible high blood pressure.

Source: Circulation. 2005;112:1789-1797 (November 2005)