Metabolically Healthy Obese

Metabolically Healthy Obese or MHO refers to those who classify as overweight or obese by BMI but do not suffer any metabolic abnormalities. In spite of being significantly overweight, they exhibit normal cholesterol levels, healthy blood pressure levels and no signs of diabetes.

MHO persons are obese but with favorable metabolic profile. They are a subgroup of obese persons but whose fat accumulation has not led to adverse metabolic effects such as insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and impaired glucose tolerance. They do not exhibit the typical metabolic red flags that nearly always accompany obesity. Studies show that most persons who are metabolically healthy obese might be in a transient state heading down the road to metabolic disturbances if they do not make lifestyle changes.

The healthy obese tend to carry their fat in the subcutaneous layer, where it is not so harmful. It was also noticed that they did not have fatty livers thereby maintaining normal metabolic health. Do not confuse the metabolically healthy obese with those suffering from lipodystrophy – lack of fat cells. They might appear lean and sans fat, but they are most likely to have fatty livers and ectopic fat.