Metabolically healthy and unhealthy obese--the 2013 Stock Conference report.

ABSTRACT: Obesity is closely associated with cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, but some obese individuals, despite having excessive body fat, exhibit metabolic health that is comparable with that of lean individuals. The 'healthy obese' phenotype was described in the 1980s, but major advancements in its characterization were only made in the past five years. During this time, several new mechanisms that may be involved in health preservation in obesity were proposed through the use of transgenic animal models, use of sophisticated imaging techniques and in vivo measurements of insulin sensitivity. However, the main obstacle in advancing our understanding of the metabolically healthy obese phenotype and its related long-term health risks is the lack of a standardized definition. Here, we s

SUBMITTER: Samocha-Bonet D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4519075 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature