Overview
- A Lancet analysis this week found that in several high‑income countries differences in systolic blood pressure and non‑HDL cholesterol between people with obesity and normal‑weight peers narrowed or disappeared for adults aged 40–79.
- The authors attribute the convergence mainly to higher use of cholesterol‑lowering drugs and blood‑pressure medicines among people with obesity, with about 70–72% of older men with severe obesity on cholesterol treatment by the early 2020s compared with 40–48% of normal‑weight peers.
- Younger adults under 40 did not share the same gains: the study shows they still have higher blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol and are much less likely to be screened or prescribed preventive medicines.
- The analysis covered nearly one million people from 110 health surveys in seven high‑income countries from 1990–2024 but cannot assess prescription doses or prove causation because it is observational and limited in geographic generalisability.
- Clinically, the results give context for decisions about expanding use of weight‑loss drugs and underline the need for earlier screening and integrated prevention since medication lowers some cardiovascular markers but does not remove obesity’s risks for diabetes, kidney disease and certain cancers.