Statins and blood pressure drugs changing health risks of obesity, study suggests

A 25-year study tracking cardiovascular risk factors found that adults over 40 with obesity now have blood pressure and cholesterol levels rivaling peers with normal BMI, with the gap narrowing sharply since 1990 as statin and blood pressure medication use expanded among this population.

The findings show medical management is attenuating cardiovascular consequences of obesity; they do not mean obesity itself has become benign or that the underlying metabolic risks have disappeared.