The Obesity Paradox: Can Body Fat Ever Be Good For You?

When it pertains to a medical consensus on body fat here's what we understand: There isn't one. The research is contrasting, analyzing the outcomes can be complicated and even leading professionals disagree about whether or not you can be healthy at any size.

More than one third of U.S. adults are obese. And being overweight or overweight can put people at a greater risk for other health issues like heart disease and diabetes. Yet, in the last decade or two, there's increasing data recommending body fat may, sometimes, impart a kind of protective benefit. This has caused what's called the "obesity paradox"-- the fact that moderately overweight people with chronic illness are typically outliving normal-weight people with the very same health issues.

The most current example is a research study published today in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. In the research study, researchers looked at over 10,500 clients with type 2 diabetes who were followed for around 10 years. They found that obese or overweight individuals in the study had a higher rate of heart events like cardiac arrest compared to individuals who were a typical weight. However, individuals who were overweight-- however not overweight-- lived longer than the people who were of typical weight or underweight. In fact people who were underweight had the worst diagnosis, the scientists showed.

" The description for these outcomes is unknown and does not mean that patients with diabetes must attempt to end up being overweight," the editors of Annals compose. "Patients need to continue to follow a healthy lifestyle."

That does not address the question of why heavier people fared better by some steps, nevertheless-- a concern that has actually been afflicting scientists for more than a decade. Some scientists say they've had trouble getting their initial findings released in medical journals since it raises numerous challenging questions. And for typical joes, this emerging body of evidence continues to confuse.

Can Fat Help the Heart?

The current research study does not challenge the truth that being overweight puts people at risk for heart problems. But how can it be that the very aspects that put people at risk for heart problem could also add years to their life?

In a 2014 research study, a group of researchers performed a meta-analysis of 36 research studies and discovered that a that low BMI in thousands of patients with coronary artery disease who underwent surgery was associated with as much as a 2.7-fold greater risk of heart attack and heart-related death over a follow up period of near 2 years. But overweight and overweight clients had much better outcomes and heart-related death danger was least expensive among overweight clients with a high BMI compared to individuals with a normal BMI.