Scientists in the United States, where obesity rates have soared high in recent years, discovered that not all obese people are unhealthy. It does not automatically predispose a person to metabolic changes that often lead to serious diseases like diabetes and heart problems.
The scientists were from the Washington Unyiversity School of Medicine in St. Louis. In the study, they asked 20 obese men and women to gain weight (15 pounds / 7 kilograms) over several months and they analyzed metabolic functions of the body. They studied on whether weight gain can affect the body's metabolic processes.
According to Elisa Fabbrini, assistant professor of medicine, "This was not easy to do. It is just as difficult to get people to gain weight as it is to get them to lose weight." The results were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the results showed that being obese does not always mean being 'unhealthy'.
The participants of the study who did not have any health problem normally linked to obesity such as high cholesterol, increased blood pressure and fatty liver did not manifest any of the illness even after they gained weight. On the other hand, subjects who had health problems before the start of the study suffered worsening health after gaining weight.
The results of the study will help researchers understand and distinguish people who are at high risk for bad health from those who stay healthy.
"This research demonstrates that some obese people are protected from the adverse metabolic effects of moderate weight gain, whereas others are predisposed to develop these problems," Samuel Klein, MD, director of Washington University's Center for Human Nutrition, told the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Obese people can be healthy if they choose to live a healthier life through proper diet and adequate exercise.
