What is striking about that relationship, Shively said, is that women and female monkeys have a natural protection against heart disease – women typically develop heart disease, on average, 10 years later than men do. That protection seems to be lost when stress and visceral fat increase. Researchers found that the monkeys with high social stress and larger amounts of visceral fat also had ovaries that produced fewer protective hormones.

“Suppressed ovarian function is a very serious condition in a woman,” Shively said. “Women who are hormone-deficient will develop more atherosclerosis and be at greater risk of developing coronary heart disease and other diseases such as osteoporosis and cognitive impairment.”

Women whose bodies are not producing adequate amounts of hormones won’t necessarily know it, Shively said. The researchers found that low hormone production doesn’t always lead to fewer menstrual cycles. To diagnose serious health problems in obese women, doctors would have to investigate hormone levels.

“We need to take a closer look at the ovarian function of obese women,” Shively said. “They might not be producing enough hormones to maintain adequate health.”

The study’s results also reinforce basic health advice, she said: watch what you eat, exercise regularly, and try to manage the stress in your life.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

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