Obesity can occur even at a normal weight. How it works

Obesity can occur even at a normal weight. How it works

This problem is increasingly common in young people.

An ordinary day of a modern person is full of various factors that are harmful to health. Sedentary lifestyle, fast food consumption, prolonged nervous tension can lead to the accumulation of extra pounds and the development of many diseases. A common diagnosis with this lifestyle is obesity, particularly sarcopenic obesity. The disease used to affect only the elderly, but now it is increasingly common in the young. We asked the doctor what this phenomenon is and how it can be avoided.

Candidate of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics SITILAB

People with sarcopenic obesity may have normal weight, but body quality is not. This figure is often referred to as “skinny fat” or “fat skinny”.

What is the difference between sarcopenic obesity and normal obesity?

Obesity is a disease characterized by an excessive amount of fatty tissue in the body. In the case of sarcopenic obesity, not only is fat accumulated, but muscle tissue is also reduced. That is, strength and endurance are reduced even more, because low skeletal muscle mass is combined with a high percentage of fat.

Irina: This phenomenon is characteristic of older people with hormonal changes and chronic diseases. With age, the volume of muscle tissue decreases, and with it the metabolic processes slow down. By the age of 65, we lose about 30-40% of muscle, while fatty tissue tends to accumulate and reach its peak volume by this age. In old age, the subcutaneous fat layer decreases and visceral (internal) fat increases.

But! Increasingly, sarcopenic obesity is diagnosed among the young. The reasons lie in sedentary lifestyle, hormonal disorders, unbalanced nutrition (including strict diets). Visually, a person does not necessarily look fat, but at the same time can suffer from obesity.

How to identify the disease and avoid it?

Irina: Diagnose sarcopenic obesity can be diagnosed by examining muscle mass and muscle strength, as well as ultrasound and laboratory tests. First of all, you should check blood sugar and fat levels, sex hormones and thyroid hormones.