Are those few extra vanity pounds around your wait truly just vanity? New evidence suggests that even a small gut could be damaging your heart and hurting your efforts to lower your blood pressure.

Our arteries are lined with endothelial cells which play a major role in the proper dilation and contraction of the arteries. Dysfunctional endothelial cells have been identified as an independent predictor of cardiovascular events, and as such maintaining their health has become the topic of clinical research. A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found evidence that visceral (abdominal) weight gain, even that associated with just being 10 pounds overweight, is damaging to endothelial cells and may lead to high blood pressure. The good news is that if the extra weight is lost, endothelial health appears to be restored.

For more information about the study references see “Modest Visceral Fat Gain Causes Endothelial Dysfunction in Healthy Humans” by Romero-Corral, Abel, Sert-Kuniyoshi, Fatima H., Sierra-Johnson, Justo, Orban, Marek, Gami, Apoor, Davison, Diane, Singh, Prachi, Pusalavidyasagar, Snigdha, Huyber, Christine, Votruba, Susanne, Lopez-Jimenez, Francisco, Jensen, Michael D., Somers, Virend K. J Am Coll Cardiol 2010 56: 662-666. You can view it online at http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/56/8/662.