Normal weight obesity, more commonly referred to as skinny fat, is the condition of having normal body weight, but with a high

body fat Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular en ...

percentage, leading to some of the same health risks as

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

Definition

The term "metabolically obese normal weight" (MONW) refers to people with normal weight and

body mass index Body mass index (BMI) is a value derived from the mass (weight) and height of a person. The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is expressed in units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms and he ...

(BMI), who display some metabolic characteristics which increase the risk of developing

metabolic syndrome Metabolic syndrome is a clustering of at least three of the following five medical conditions: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high serum triglycerides, and low serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Metabolic syndrome ...

in the same way as obesity. People with MONW have excess visceral fat, and are predisposed to hyperinsulinemia, insulin-resistance and thus predisposition to type 2 diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension and premature coronary heart disease or

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...

. The BMI does not capture information about percentage body fat (PBF), which is a better predictor of risk due to obesity. Some studies have suggested that the main factor which explains the metabolic abnormalities in MONW individuals is fat distribution. On the basis of these studies, a scoring method has been proposed to identify MONW individuals, based on the presence of associated diseases or biochemical abnormalities related to insulin resistance.

Prevalence

In 2008, the first

prevalence In epidemiology, prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. It is derived by comparing the number o ...

of US adults above 20 years was published, based on the

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a survey research program conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States, and t ...

s from 1999 to 2004, finding that 24% of normal-weight adults were metabolically abnormal; on the other hand 49% of overweight adults and 68% of obese adults were metabolically abnormal. An analysis from an earlier NHANES from 1988 to 1994 found people with NWO had a four-fold higher frequency of metabolic syndrome compared with the low body fat group.Abel Romero-Corral, Virend K. Somers, Justo Sierra-Johnson, Yoel Korenfeld, Simona Boarin, Josef Korinek Michael, D. Jensen Gianfranco Parati, Francisco Lopez-Jimene
Normal weight obesity: a risk factor for cardiometabolic dysregulation and cardiovascular mortality
European Heart Journal, Volume 31, Issue 6, 1 March 2010, Pages 737–746. In 2015 the overall presence in the general worldwide population was suggested to be about 20%, with European populations having the highest rate of MONW. Patterns were subject to and also influenced by gender, age, smoking, alcohol use, and region.

Treatment

As of 2018, optimal treatment is unknown.Rubin R. What's the Best Way to Treat Normal-Weight People With Metabolic Abnormalities? JAMA. 2018;320(3):223–225. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.8188 A 1998 study suggested that energy restriction and weight loss, for example a 4- to 12-week period of diet and exercise was beneficial. A small study of 11 Asians with MONW published June 2018 found that moderate weight loss through dieting reduced their cardiometabolic risk per improved body composition, lipid profile, and insulin sensitivity. Magnesium supplementation orally has been shown to improve blood pressure and metabolic profile for those listed as MONW.

References

{{reflist Obesity

Definition

Prevalence

Treatment

See also

References