Study may bust myth of 'fat and fit' healthy obesity

Conclusion This meta-analysis provides further evidence about the known risk factors for cardiovascular disease and mortality. What this study adds is the indication that people who are metabolically unhealthy regardless of their weight are at increased risk. However, interestingly, no increase in risk was seen for the category of people who are metabolically healthy though overweight. A strength of this meta-analysis is the large sample size. However, the results should be interpreted with caution as: The studies did not use the same criteria for assessing metabolic status. The studies did not use the same criteria for assessing physical activity level and this was not included in the analysis. The analysis revealed the level of risk seen was quite different in each individual study so adding all the results together could be misleading. They found that this could be somewhat accounted for by length of follow up and smoking status but they did not independently look at the risk of smoking. The researchers point out that medication was not taken into account (such as antihypertensives or lipid-lowering medication). It is not known whether the BMI changed over time and what effect this may have. While putting on a few pounds over the recommended limits did not appear to have a significant effect on health outcomes it is still important to be vigilant. It is easy to fall into a pattern of bad habits and what was once a few pounds can grow into...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Lifestyle/exercise Obesity Source Type: news