People with heart disease who are obese (BMI 30 or higher) have a 23% higher chance of dying from any cause compared to those who are overweight (BMI 25-30).

Obese heart disease patients who are inactive have a 30% higher death risk compared to overweight inactive patients, while active obese patients have a 19% higher risk compared to active overweight patients.

People who are too thin have a much higher chance of dying early—even more than those who are obese—suggesting being underweight is just as dangerous as being very overweight.

In people with heart disease, having a body mass index around 27 is linked to the lowest chance of dying from any cause, while both lower and higher BMIs are associated with higher risks.

If you're overweight or obese, eating a lot of sugary or starchy foods might raise your chance of heart disease by almost half—but if you're a normal weight, those foods don’t seem to make a difference. Your weight changes how those foods affect your heart.

People who eat a lot of sugary or starchy foods and have a higher body weight are more likely to develop heart disease than people with the same diet but lower body weight — for every extra 50 grams of sugar and starch per day, their risk goes up by 22%. But if you’re lighter, that same diet doesn’t seem to raise your risk much.