Title:“Metabolically Healthy” Obesity: Fact or Threat?
VOLUME: 14 ISSUE: 5
Author(s):Andrea De Lorenzo*, Cristiane da Cruz Lamas, Rafael Lessa and Annie Seixas Bello Moreira
Affiliation:Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Rua das Laranjeiras 374, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Rua das Laranjeiras 374, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Rua das Laranjeiras 374, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Rua das Laranjeiras 374, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Keywords:Obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, prognosis, diabetes, healthy.
Abstract:Introduction: Obesity is a serious, worldwide and growing problem, with associated complications
ranging from cardiovascular disease to cancer. It has been suggested that a subgroup of
obese patients- the “metabolically healthy” (MH)- would constitute a phenotype whose cardiovascular
risk would be closer to that of normal weight individuals and lower than that of obese patients with
other risk factors. The definitions of MH obesity are heterogeneous, what makes the estimation of its
prevalence quite difficult. Besides that, data are still controversial about the risk of incident cardiovascular
disease in these patients and therefore this remains an unresolved matter. In parallel, the possibly
lower risk of MH obesity may raise questions about the need for weight loss in MH obese patients.
Conclusion: This issue should be carefully addressed, and evidence for a “benign” profile of MH obesity
critically evaluated, as obesity is a risk factor for numerous health outcomes, and weight loss in
obese people additionally offers protection against these nonmetabolic diseases.
