The heart’s job is to deliver blood and oxygen to the body. It does this by pumping the blood, and excess weight forces it to pump harder in order to circulate the blood through a larger area. Over time, this thickens the walls of the heart. The heart is a muscle, but unlike skeletal muscles, firming and thickening it is a bad thing, as it interferes with the heart’s ability to expand and contract.
If you’ve ever felt winded after engaging in physical activity like climbing the stairs or walking, then you know what it feels like when your body isn’t getting the oxygen it needs to do its job. The more energy you expend, the more oxygen your body requires. If you have excess weight, your heart isn’t able to distribute the amount of oxygen your body needs.
In addition to making the heart work extra hard to pump blood, obesity can cause congestive heart failure, irregular heartbeat, and coronary artery disease. Angina is a symptom of coronary artery disease that manifests as pain in the chest and/or other parts of the body due to inadequate oxygen.