Researchers found that obese heart patients respond better to strokes and heart attacks compared to normal or underweight patients.

Although obesity is a leading cause of heart disease, paradoxically scientists say fat and even high cholesterol may have protective benefits.

Cardiologist Carl J. Lavie, of the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, said: " Overweight heart patients do better than thin patients, but overweight patients who lose weight do best of all.

It is knowns as "reverse epidemiology" where obesity and even high cholesterol may have protective benefits and be associated with a greater survivability in certain groups of people such as the very elderly and those with certain chronic diseases.