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Home Industry News So-called ‘healthy obese’ people at higher risk of heart disease

So-called ‘healthy obese’ people at higher risk of heart disease

17th May 2017

A new study has indicated that obese people who are considered metabolically healthy are still at a high risk of heart health problems.

The University of Birmingham research has cast doubt on the concept of "healthy obesity" by studying UK electronic health records from 1995 to 2015 to assemble a cohort of 3.5 million individuals aged 18 years or older and initially free from cardiovascular disease.

When compared to normal weight individuals with no metabolic abnormalities, individuals with metabolically healthy obesity had a 50 percent increased risk of coronary heart disease, a seven percent higher risk of cerebrovascular disease and a doubled risk of heart failure.

Metabolically healthy obesity is a condition in which people are considered obese in terms of their body mass index, but do not experience the typical associated metabolic complications such as abnormal blood fats, poor blood sugar control, diabetes and high blood pressure.

However, this research shows that these individuals' health remains at risk in other ways, emphasising the importance of weight loss.

Dr Rishi Caleyachetty at the University of Birmingham said: "So-called metabolically healthy obesity is not a harmless condition, and perhaps it is better not to use this term to describe an obese person, regardless of how many metabolic complications they have."

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