Live chat with nurse Judy

Barry asks: "How concerned should I be that my father's around 4 stone overweight - is this putting him at higher risk of heart trouble? Thanks"

Judy says:

You are right to be concerned about your dad’s weight – being overweight increases the risk of developing heart disease. If his weight is predominantly around his middle it will increase his risk of developing diabetes which in turns increases the risk of heart disease.

We may be able to help to motivate him to lose weight with our free Heart Matters service. On joining your dad would receive a free membership pack which includes a handy tape measure with instructions on how to measure his waist. The tape measure highlights the point at which an increased waist measurement increases the risk of heart disease – some of our members have told us that this motivated them to lose weight so that they went from the ‘at risk red area’ of the tape to the healthier white. Of course lots of people find eating healthily a chore so we have over 140 healthy but tasty recipes available to choose from our online recipe finder.

Our free heart matters magazine gives tips on staying active in ways that are both enjoyable and inexpensive. If you dad joins today he will receive our October issue of the magazine which has a fantastic article on dog walking. I hope he will give us the opportunity to support him in looking after his heart by joining Heart Matters.