The possible paradox between obesity and BMI

Relationship between obesity and health status

A recent European study focused on studying the risk factors or diseases generated by substantial overweight in a category of the population. Using a panel of people whose BMI is within the norm, people with moderate obesity or morbid obesity, the results obtained are astounding.

This study was published in the European Heart Journal . You will find the source of this study by clicking on this link . For the sake of understanding, some parts of the study have been deliberately simplified in this article in order to draw only the essentials. This article was published in the European Heart Journal on September 4, 2012.

This study found that some obese people are physically fit and do not have common health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, or hypertension.

In fact, they’re even so healthy they’re 38% less likely to die sooner than their obese unhealthy counterparts.

The findings of this study

After observing 43,265 people (all from America) between 1979 and 2003, it appears that some people suffering from obesity nevertheless display a metabolism that reacts correctly, and no less well, to various environmental factors. Thus, the preconceived ideas correlating overweight with diabetes, cholesterol or heart or respiratory failure are completely called into question since among all the people tested, they do not systematically present a risk of these diseases.

A few reminders to understand the study:

• People with a BMI of 25 or more are considered overweight.
• While those with a BMI of over 30 are obese.
• Men with a body fat percentage (BMI) of less than 25% are considered normal. For women the limit would be 30%.

A total of 5649 individuals in the sample, or 13.1%, were considered obese using the definition of BMI (ie greater than 30).
And 12,829, or 29.7%, were obese using the IMG definition (greater than 25% or 30%, therefore, depending on gender).

Among obese participants, 30.8% of “Obese-BMI” were defined as metabolically healthy .
Concerning the IMG, 46.3% of “Obese-IMG” were defined as metabolically healthy .

The study therefore seems to show that the definition of the Fat Mass Index (IMG) is more precise. There was no difference between healthy obese people and healthy people with normal weight, the researchers said.

The results of this project go even further by showing that the risk of contracting cardiovascular disease was equal for obese people and for people with low weight. This would even highlight that the regular practice of a sport would make it possible to maintain a positive health heritage despite the corpulence of the person.

Professor Oskar Angera, from the University of Gothenburg, analyzed the phenomenon. These analyzes explain this reality by the fact that an adult with a normal BMI is more exposed to certain deficiencies in minerals and/or vitamins; the latter being essential ingredients for good cardiovascular function.
However, it is clear that the most exposed are carriers of a BMI equal to underweight and those with morbid obesity.

Discovery of the paradox of obesity

The study and other analyzes carried out throughout the European Union succeed in demonstrating the phenomenon of  the “obesity paradox ”. This conclusion is a revolution in the world of overweight because it calls into question all the prejudices or previous convictions thanks to a large panel proving the evidence without possible dispute.

This new concept is intimately linked to the BMI or body mass index. Indeed, people with a low BMI between 17 and 19 are three times more likely to contract cardiovascular disease than those with a BMI greater than 26.5. This situation is explained by deficiencies in vitamins and essential fatty acids in lean people. Only morbidly obese people with a BMI greater than 41 would have the same possibilities as these people of seeing their health deteriorate.