A recent study led by Dr Ineke Van Dis, from the Netherlands Heart Foundation, has revealed that about one-third of all heart disease death have being over-weight as their root cause, which means that nearly 67,000 death in across Britain every year could be directly linked with rapidly increasing weight of the population.

Also, the study hinted that obesity could put people at a much bigger risk for cardiovascular problems than previously estimated.

In the light of the new findings, and the fact that the level of obesity in UK is set to double by 2015, various charities are now warning that more drives should be pushed for the urgent need of following a healthy lifestyle with exercise and balanced eating.

The conclusions of the study were drawn after a decade long study of 20,000 men and women aged between 20-65, and stressed that being overweight accounted for about 50% of fatal heart disease cases that were noted.

Other factors that could lead to serious heart problems include smoking, high BP and high cholesterol levels. "What this study shows is the substantial effect which being overweight and obese has on cardiovascular disease, whether fatal or non-fatal. In the near future, the impact of obesity on the burden of heart disease will be even greater", said Dr. Van Dis.

The Dutch study has been published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.