People who appear slim may actually be obese

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According to German endocrinologist Matthias Blücher, even slim and thin-looking people can have excess fat (relative to muscle mass).

Professor Matthias Blücher, an endocrinologist at the University of Leipzig and the Helmholtz Center in Munich, spoke at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. The specialist spoke about the so-called obesity phenomenon, which partly consists in the fact that excess fat can be invisible. According to Blücher, today it is customary to determine the presence of obesity and overweight in a person based on BMI (body mass index), but this indicator may not reflect the real state of affairs. For example, a person may have a low BMI and look slim, but does this mean that they do not have problems with fat deposition? Blücher noted that people who appear slim can actually suffer from obesity if their body does not have enough muscle mass and fat begins to take its place.

Another manifestation of the obesity phenomenon is that some excess fat does not prevent people from remaining practically healthy. As Professor Blücher stated, statistically, approximately one in five obese people demonstrates “metabolic health”, that is, they do not suffer from type 2 diabetes or elevated blood sugar levels, hypertension or excessive cholesterol in the blood.

What could explain such a phenomenon? Here is one of the versions of the researchers. They believe that each person has an individual target BMI, exceeding which has a devastating effect on health. As long as this indicator is not exceeded, it remains relatively healthy.

But Professor Blücher emphasized: people with metabolically healthy obesity still risk their bodies. In particular, they have a higher risk of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and heart failure compared to their peers with normal weight.

“There will always be people who live with obesity and do not suffer from metabolic diseases due to individual characteristics. But it is better to get rid of excess fat even for them. Its accumulation can cause a number of life-threatening diseases, including heart disease, fatty liver and kidney problems,” the endocrinologist stated.