No Such Thing as “Healthy Obesity”: Study

22 May 2017 --- “Healthy” obese people are still at higher risk of heart failure or stroke than the general population, according to research by scientists at the University of Birmingham. The results indicate that the concept of “healthy obesity” – a condition characterized by having normal markers of metabolic health despite a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more – is, in fact, a myth.

The researchers presented their findings at the European Congress on Obesity in Porto. The study was the largest of its kind to date and involved analysis of the GP records of 3.5 million people aged 18 years or older and initially free from cardiovascular disease (CVD) from across the UK from 1995 to 2015.

During the study, a team from the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham used electronic patient records to look for markers of being metabolically healthy, having normal blood pressure and cholesterol and no diabetes, while also being obese.

They subsequently checked how many people suffered one of the following four cardiovascular conditions: coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (including stroke), heart failure and peripheral vascular disease (a disorder of blood circulation).

The results showed that those regarded as healthy and obese had a 49% increased risk of coronary heart disease, a 7% higher risk of stroke, and a 96% increased risk of heart failure compared to healthy people of a normal weight.

Among the cases tracked, there were 165,302 adverse health events during an average 50-month follow-up of patients, with 61,546 cases of CHD, 54,705 of mini stroke and stroke, 25,254 cases of heart failure, and 23,797 cases of peripheral vascular disease.

“The idea of being healthily obese is a myth. Our work shows that so-called ‘metabolically healthy’ obese individuals are still at higher risk of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and heart failure than normal weight metabolically healthy individuals,” says the lead author of the study, Dr. Rishi Caleyachetty.

The researchers presented their findings at the European Congress on Obesity in Porto. The study was the largest of its kind to date, involving analysis of the GP records of 3.5 million people aged 18 years or older and initially free from CVD from across the UK from 1995 to 2015.

During the study, a team from the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham used electronic patient records to look for markers of being metabolically healthy, having normal blood pressure and cholesterol and no diabetes, while also being obese.

They then tracked how many people suffered one of four cardiovascular conditions: coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (including stroke), heart failure and peripheral vascular disease (a disorder of blood circulation).

The results showed that, compared to healthy people of a normal weight, those regarded as healthy and obese had a 49% increased risk of coronary heart disease, a 7% higher risk of stroke, and a 96% increased risk of heart failure.

There were 165,302 adverse health events during an average 50-month follow-up of patients, with 61,546 cases of CHD, 54,705 of mini stroke and stroke, 25,254 cases of heart failure, and 23,797 cases of peripheral vascular disease.

“The idea of being healthily obese is a myth. Our work shows that so-called ‘metabolically healthy’ obese individuals are still at higher risk of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and heart failure than normal weight metabolically healthy individuals,” says the lead author of the study, Dr. Rishi Caleyachetty.