ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 31 (UPI) -- Researchers say more than half of U.S. adults of normal body weight may have high body fat and may be at risk for disease.
The researchers studied 2,127 adults, both men and women with normal weight -- a body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9 units -- for their body composition and their risk factors for metabolic and heart disease,
The finding that a high percent of body fat -- despite normal weight -- was linked to metabolic disease markers conflicts with the widely held notion that simply maintaining a normal weight guards against disease The researchers defined having a normal body mass index but a high percentage of body fat as "normal weight obesity."
"Using the term 'normal weight obesity' is really a way of being more precise about the changing conceptualization of obesity, because the real definition of obesity is excess body fat," study researcher Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez of the Mayo Clinic said in a statement.
"Our study demonstrates that even people with normal weight may have excessive body fat, and that these people are at risk for metabolic abnormalities that lead to diabetes and, eventually, to heart disease."
The findings were presented at the American College of Cardiology's annual scientific session in Chicago.
