New Delhi. Doctors say your heart may be older than you think. He cautioned that due to the increase in obesity in India, the cardiac age of many people may be much higher than their actual age, which may increase the risk of heart diseases at an early age.

This concern has come to light after the results of the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6), which showed that the problem of obesity is increasing rapidly among Indian adults. The survey found that 30.7 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 years were overweight or obese in 2023-24, while the proportion was 24 per cent in NFHS-5 (2019-21). At the same time, this ratio among men increased from 22.9 percent to 27.3 percent.

Experts say that due to this change as well as increasing cases of diabetes and high blood pressure, the risk of heart diseases may increase. Dr Nitish Naik, professor of cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, said that ‘heart age’ is increasingly being used to explain the risk of heart disease in a way that people can easily understand.

Dr. Naik told ‘PTI-Bhasha’, “Heart age is not necessarily equal to the actual age (chronological age) of a person. It is an assessment of whether the heart is healthy or unhealthy based on different risk factors.” He said that a 35-year-old person with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and a lifestyle without much physical activity may have the same risk of heart disease as an older person.

According to the World Health Organization, overweight and obesity are among the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases. These include heart disease and stroke, which remain the leading causes of death worldwide. Dr. Rahul Chandola, head of ‘Heart and Lung Disease Institute Research Centre’, said that obesity is a main factor in ‘cardiovascular health’ (health of heart and lungs) and it is a big problem in the whole world including India.

He said that inactive lifestyle, sitting for long hours in offices, consumption of unhealthy foods and stress promote obesity. Talking about heart age, Dr. Chandola said that it is a measure of the health of the heart and blood vessels. It reflects the physical condition of a person’s organ rather than the number of years of age.

He said that if a 70 or 80-year-old person has good heart and blood vessel health, his heart may remain at a much younger age. Similarly, a younger person may have a higher heart age if multiple risk factors are present. Dr Naik said many Indians are unaware that heart damage often begins years before symptoms appear.

“People often focus only on body weight, whereas metabolic health is equally important,” he said. Obesity can silently damage blood vessels, increase insulin resistance and increase blood pressure. By the time symptoms appear, serious damage to the heart and blood vessels may have occurred.

What did Dr. H.S. say? Isar

Dr. H.S., Head of Cardiology Department at Safdarjung Hospital. Issar said that excess fat in the body, especially around the abdomen, promotes ‘chronic inflammation’ (long-lasting inflammation), increases blood pressure and worsens cholesterol levels. All these things damage the blood vessels and force the heart to work harder.

Dr. Issar said abdominal fat is particularly dangerous because it surrounds vital organs and promotes metabolic disorders. Dr. Anil Gurtu, head of the department of medicine at Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, said, “According to the calendar, our age may be different, but the age of the heart can be different. Therefore, even if we are 40 years old according to the calendar, the age of our heart can be more than 60 years.