Wednesday, February 04, 2009
To date, countless epidemiological studies have shown that as you move from a normal weight (BMI = 18.5-24.9 kg/m2) towards overweight (BMI = 25-29.9kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30kg/m2) the risk of many diseases increases exponentially.
Does this mean that every individual carrying excess weight (overweight or obese) is bound to have diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or some other disease?
Although that is the commonly held belief, the answer to the above question is a resounding “NO!”
In fact, research suggests that approximately 25% of obese individuals are perfectly metabolically healthy (normal blood glucose, blood lipids, blood pressure, and cytokine profile) despite their excess weight.
In the 1980’s when researchers first noted this type of obesity they coined these individuals, Metabolically Healthy Obese.
The defining characteristics of the metabolically healthy obese phenotype, in contrast to obese individuals with metabolic risk, include limited abdominal, particularly visceral fat accumulation, an earlier onset of obesity (<20 years) and high levels of physical activity.
For example, yesterday Travis discussed the notion of sumo-wrestlers who are very obese and yet due to their high level of activity have very little visceral fat accumulation, tons of muscle mass, and a healthy metabolic profile – until they stop training, that is. During their training period, sumo wrestlers much like non-retired football linemen exemplify the metabolically healthy obese phenotype.
As a caveat, there of course are other health issues brought on by carrying excess weight that are not always metabolic (i.e. joint problems due to excess load).
Nevertheless, it is important to note that excess weight alone doesn’t absolutely guarantee the presence of metabolic disease. This once again reinforces the notion that there is more to health than the number on one’s bathroom scale.
[Note: Please vote for your favourite type of Obesity Panacea post on our new poll (right side of the screen under the email subscription link) and help us cater our topics to your preferences. Email subscribers must log on to the original site to vote.]
Enjoyed this story? Share it with your friends by clicking the buttons below!
To get future posts delivered directly to your email inbox or to your RSS reader, be sure to subscribe to Obesity Panacea.