Ahmedabad: There’s much more than what meets the eye. A lean body could hide fatty facts pointing to health risks.
Experts say that individuals may seem normal with an average or above-average build and a normal body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9kg per cubic metre. However, a body fat analysis of these individuals can reveal a high body fat percentage (over 25% for men and over 32% for women). This is identified as normal weight obesity (NWO).
A recent study has tried to understand the correlation between normal weight obesity — NWO — and Type 2 diabetes.
The study, titled ‘Exploring the Silent Epidemic: Investigating the Hidden Burden of Normal Weight Obesity in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in India – A Cross-Sectional Study’ by M Yogesh, Mansi Mody, Naresh Makwana and Jenish Patel from M P Shah Govt Medical College, Jamnagar, was published recently in the BMC journal, Clinical Diabetes and Endocrinology.
‘The prevalence of NWO was 33% among the study population,’ the findings say. From the 432 individuals from the state, with a history of Type 2 diabetes studied, 91% of males and 51.8% of females with normal BMI were found to have obese levels of body fat.
‘Individuals with NWO demonstrated higher cardiometabolic risk profiles compared to non-obese counterparts, including elevated random blood glucose levels, higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and increased prevalence of hypertension,’ mentioned the findings.
The average BMI for men was found to be around 23.9 kg/m2, whereas for females it was 24.1 kg/m2. The body fat percentage was found to be around 38.9% in men and 34% in women.
‘Even in the underweight BMI category, all males (100%) and half of the females (50%) had obese levels of body fat. In the overweight BMI category, 91% of males and 27.7% of females had obese body fat levels,’ says the study.
“It is more worrisome compared to conventional obesity as the person remains under the illusion that they are relatively healthy and do not mend their lifestyle,” said a city-based diabetologist.