Are people with metabolically healthy obesity really healthy? A prospective cohort study of 381,363 UK Biobank participants
‘Metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) is a term used for people with obesity and a normal metabolic profile. However, it is still uncertain if this group of individuals is actually ‘healthy’. Ziyi Zhou and colleagues conducted research under the title “Are people with metabolically healthy obesity really healthy? A prospective cohort study of 381,363 UK Biobank participants” published in Diabetologia Journal. The summary of this study is given below:
Objective:
To investigate the associations of MHO along with a wide range of obesity-related outcomes.
Method:
381,363 UK Biobank participants were included in this population-based prospective cohort study. The median follow-up of 11.2 years was conducted for the investigations. MHO was defined as a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and at least 4 of the 6 metabolically healthy criteria. Outcomes included the occurrence of diabetes, fatal atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD), heart failure (HF), and respiratory diseases.
Findings:
Investigators found that people with MHO are not ‘healthy’ and they are at elevated risk of developing ASCVD, HF, and respiratory diseases as compared to non-obese people possessing normal metabolic profiles. Hence, benefits of weight management are suggested for all people with obesity nevertheless of metabolic profile. Additionally, the study suggests that ‘MHO’ is a misleading term and its usage should be avoided in clinical medicine. Investigators motivate future studies to explore different strategies for risk stratification.
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