Can You Be Healthy And Obese?

Regardless of who you are, where you go, and whom you meet, you can easily find people who will tell you that obesity is bad for your health. It is true that obesity has been associated with a host of serious diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases. It is also true that obesity is a precursor to diseases like arthritis, gall stones, infertility, cancers and many other serious ailments. 

Worldwide, the incidence of obesity has been steadily increasing over the last couple of decades. Earlier, obesity was considered to solely be a malaise of developed countries. In US alone, for instance, around 40 percent of the population is grappling with the problem of obesity. Now, the condition is becoming increasingly common in many developing countries too.

Several studies carried out in the recent past have identified a set of people who the scientists call as “metabolically healthy obese individuals.” These individuals may have a BMI of more than 30, but do not suffer from any of the problems that generally plague obese people. Their cholesterol levels are normal, their blood pressure is not elevated and they show no signs of insulin resistance.

Difference between an obese individual and a metabolically healthy obese individual

So, what makes a metabolically healthy obese different from other obese people? Scientists have observed that when a person is obese, fat initially deposits in the adipose cells present in the subcutaneous tissue. But as more and more fat accumulates in these cells, the mitochondria — the "powerhouse of the cell", remember? — present in these cells are damaged. The mitochondria are no longer able to convert glucose into energy. Moreover, these cells can even lose their ability to regenerate. As no new fat cells are formed, these cells bulge to their capacity and ultimately die. There is inflammation around these fat cells and when the cells burst, the fat gets accumulated into vital organs like the liver, heart, blood vessels and skeletal muscles — tissues where it is not meant to accumulate, posing a serious danger to the person's health. 

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In contrast, in metabolically healthy obese individuals, which comprise around one thirds of all obese individuals, the fat remains in the adipose cells present in the subcutaneous tissue and does not spill over to other tissues or organs. Therefore, these individuals continue to enjoy a good state of health even though the fat content in their body is much higher than normal.