A recently published study by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York asserts that a percentage of obese and overweight Americans are healthier and at less risk than cardiovascular disease than their thinner counterparts.

Analyzing data based upon 5,540 adults over the age of 20, researchers concluded that a surprising number of obese and overweight adults were actually "metabolically healthy", when taking into consideration hypertension, triglycerides and levels of HDLs. According to one researcher:

 "We found that 23.5 percent of normal-weight adult Americans — or about 16.3 million people — are metabolically abnormal when it comes to heart-disease risk," says Dr. Wildman. "At the same time, 51.3 percent of overweight adults and 31.7 percent of obese adults were metabolically healthy. We were surprised by these figures, particularly by the number of obese people who had a healthy cardiovascular risk factor profile."

Other findings were posted on the AECOM website :

• Normal-weight men were more likely to have increased heart-disease risk than normal-weight women: 30.1 percent of normal-weight men had two or more risk factors compared with 21.1 percent of normal-weight women.
• Whether people are normal weight, overweight or obese, growing older increases the odds of having two or more heart-disease risk factors. Among normal-weight people, for example, 10.3 percent of those aged 20 to 34 were metabolically abnormal vs. 54.7 percent of those between 65 and 79. Among obese people, 47.7 percent of those between 20 and 34 were metabolically healthy vs. only 14.3 percent of obese people 65 to 79 years old. "Even among older obese individuals, there were a surprising number with healthy metabolic profiles," notes Dr. Wildman.
• Overall, 16.6 percent of obese men and women had no heart-disease risk factors.

In other related research findings, a recent German study suggests that fatty infiltration of the liver may be a better marker of risk for disease than visceral fat accumulation around the midriff, abdominal circumference usually being a standard measure for many obesity studies.

And U.S. government-funded surveillance data projects that, with 2/3 of American adults currently overweight, a distinct possibility exists that every American adult could be overweight within 40 years if current trends continue unhindered. 

Such varied news underscores the fact that, while certain findings may provide some comfort that obesity's risks have been grossly overstated in the media, there is still sufficient evidence that a healthy weight is protective on a variety of levels. Doubtless, obesity and overweight carry significant risks of orthopedic complications and respiratory conditions such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea and exercise intolerance. We also know that, even if a certain percentage of obese individuals are "metabolically healthy", there is a significant percentage who are not, and thus are still at great risk of preventable morbidities. 

The overall trends still point to the fact that America---and many other industrialized nations---is at risk of a enormous public health crisis in terms of both children and adults. When it comes to rates of obesity among children, early-onset diabetes and other side effects of chronic overweight are gaining ground among many populations of children. While 78% of African-American women are overweight or obese, Mexican-Americans also are seeing skyrocketing rates, as well. 

Demographers, researchers, educators, government agencies, parents, doctors, nurses, and others with an interest in public health should take news such as that reported above as a sign that more education, study, and policy initiatives must be aggressively developed. Money spent on preventive health is money saved for future generations, and curbing current trends vis-a-vis obesity would certainly be money well spent. Obesity may be a somewhat controversial subject that profits little from media overexposure, but there is no doubt that controlling the above-mentioned trends would be in our collective and individual interest. 

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NurseKeith is a nurse, writer, blogger and consultant. Please feel free to visit his blog, Digital Doorway .  

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