Although a heart-healthy lifestyle is potent medicine in the management of cardiovascular risk, a large Finnish study finds that many — but not all — patients forgo healthy habits after starting a statin or antihypertensive medication.Researchers studied 41,225 public-sector workers free of cardiovascular disease at baseline who completed at least two surveys in 4-year intervals from 2000 to 2013.Results show that body mass index (BMI) ticked up among all participants, but the average increase was larger among those starting an antihypertensive or statin medication (adjusted difference, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.16 - 0.22).Participants who started medications were 82% more likely to become obese (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.82; 95% CI, 1.63 - 2.03). Medication initiators were also more likely to cut back on physical activity (adjusted difference, –0.09 MET h/day) and were 8% more likely to become physically inactive (adjusted OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01 - 1.17), regardless of their baseline activity.
