What is metabolically healthy obesity - what does it look like and how is it characterized

What is “healthy obesity”? Doctors still have not reached a consensus

January 26, 2022, 17:55 MSC

Being overweight does not always indicate health problems, some experts believe.

Can obesity be “healthy”? When does overweight become a serious problem?

Let’s find out together with the doctor.

The fact that obesity and cardiovascular disease often go hand in hand has long been almost axiomatic. But it turns out that this is not always the case. In some cases, being overweight is not harmful to health. This phenomenon is called metabolically healthy obesity – let’s talk about it.

Irina Tereshchenko

Candidate of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics SITILAB

The concept of “healthy obesity” is only of a scientific nature and in no way determines the normality of this condition.

good physical fitness;
presence of “large shapes” especially in the abdominal area – the ratio of waist to hip coverage for women is no more than 0.95 and for men no more than 1.30;
waist size not more than 102 cm for men and 88 cm for women;
absence of type II diabetes mellitus.

What distinguishes healthy obesity from normal obesity?

Obesity is a risk factor for strokes and heart attacks. However, as we have already said, there is a group of people who, despite their increased body weight, do not have preconditions for high blood pressure, atherosclerosis or diabetes mellitus.

Irina: Obesity is diagnosed if the body mass index (BMI) is above 30. Scientists are still arguing about the definition of the term “metabolically healthy obesity”. Specialists have not yet reached a consensus on this phenomenon, but presumably it is associated with a high level of physical activity and genetic factors.

Such a condition in any case is difficult to call safe, because excess weight, even if it does not affect metabolism, can threaten other health problems. And it cannot be said with certainty that if obesity is conventionally “healthy” now, it will stay that way forever. Problems may arise later. It’s basically a time bomb.

Irina: While the debate on this issue remains open, it’s important to remain vigilant. This is especially true for people with an elevated body mass index. For them, the first point in checking their health should be tests that diagnose diabetes: blood glucose, insulin, etc. If these tests are normal, but the body mass index and coverage ratio suggest obesity, it is necessary to pay attention to health and undergo a number of examinations to identify possible abnormalities.