Steve, a reader in Kings Beach, California asks:

Am I at greater risk for heart disease if I eat whatever I want?

 ”Let’s take a look at the literature on this one. The worldwide INTERHEART study, published in the medical journal The Lancet in 2004 demonstrated that the majority of risk factors for heart disease are “modifiable,” meaning they are factors you can change about yourself or your behavior (as opposed to non-modifiable risk factors like age, gender, race, etc). In fact, nine of these modifiable risk factors were responsible for a startling 90 percent of the risk of developing heart disease. The risk factors included: smoking, blood cholesterol levels, abdominal obesity (greater than 40″ for men or 35″ for women), daily physical activity, high blood pressure, diabetes, dietary consumption of fruits and vegetables, moderate alcohol intake and psychosocial factors.” Read the entire response here on Outside Online.