The obese can increase their heart health, simply by indulging less in food binging, but more in physical activities, which resulting in the loss of a few pounds will work wonders for the cardiovascular health.

Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis enrolled 60-people, aged between 22 to 64-years, with a body mass index ranging from 30 to 44, in a weight loss programme.

None of the study participants had clinically evident signs of heart failure, such as, shortness of breath, coughing or fluid build-up, and none of them were taking cholesterol-lowering medications. Though, a third of them were being treated for high blood pressure.

They put the study participants on low-calorie diets, including asking them to do moderate exercise like walking for a minimum of three and a half hours per week. While, 14-subjects dropped out of the study, the remaining 46 were tracked for two years, and found to have lost an average of 9-lbs in 6-months.

Within 6 to 12-months, there was a visible decrease in the thickness of their heart muscles and artery walls, with their hearts pumping blood better and relaxing better. Thicker heart muscles and increased carotid wall thickness foreshadows plaque formation, including impaired pumping and relaxation being the symptoms of a person at high risk of cardiac failure.

Researchers found, the positive effects on their heart persisted, even after the subjects gained back some of the weight lost.

Thick heart muscles make the heart work harder for pumping blood through the huge bodies of the obese, however, after a while, the hearts of the obese losing their pumping or relaxation ability can result in heart failure. However, the study suggests one can turn back the clock, regaining youthful heart function by losing weight.

The study findings have been published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology.