Weight loss not given sufficient priority in the management of heart patients Weight loss is given insufficient priority in the management of heart patients despite the benefits, according to a study published today in European Heart Journal - Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The study of more than 10,000 patients found that less than 20% had a healthy body mass index (BMI) at the time of hospitalization for a heart event. Some 16 months later, 86% of patients who were obese during hospitalization were still obese while 14% of overweight patients had become obese. Young women were particularly affected, with nearly half of those under 55 years being obese. Yet more than a third of obese patients said they had not received advice on physical activity or nutrition and nearly one in five said they had not been informed that they were overweight.