News
What is 'normal weight obesity'?
Currently people are identified as being obese by their individual BMI. BMI or Body Mass Index, is a relationship between persons height and weight. If someone’s BMI is greater than 25 they are considered overweight, and if it is greater than 30 they are considered obese. Using BMI as the only criteria for determining if a person is overweight or obese can be misleading and imprecise. BMI alone does not consider a person’s lean muscle mass or true body composition. For example, person could be overweight according to their BMI (greater than 25) but have increased lean muscle mass and low body fat. Athletes often fit into this category. Conversely, a person could be normal weight according to BMI (greater than 25) but have decreased lean muscle and a high body fat percentage. Research has identified this as Normal Weight Obesity.
New research by the Mayo clinic identified that half of Americans that were considered normal weight had higher than anticipated body fat (more than 30 percent for women and 20 percent for men). A high body fat percentage correlates with an increased risk for metabolic disturbances that could lead to heart disease and diabetes.
The Mayo clinic research suggests that we need to alter the way we view obesity. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., a cardiologist on the Mayo research team says “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.*
This research suggests that we need a more reliable way to identify body fat. There are different ways to measure body fat. The gold standard for this has been hydrostatic (underwater) weighing. Skin fold calipers, bioelectrical impedance, and infrared measurements are also used, but have variable results. Air Displacement Plethysmograph is a new technology available in our community that is fast, safe and as reliable as hydrostatic weighing. Body fat percentage is precisely measured without having to be dunked underwater (BODPOD).
Weight loss can be an effective way to decrease body fat, but if done incorrectly precious lean muscle could be lost while the body fat percentage remains the same. This research supports protein-rich, low-calorie nutrition and resistance exercise training as the optimal way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. These concepts are the cornerstones of treatment in the new Optifit program where participants are experiencing an average 90-day weight loss of 43 pounds, an 11 percent reduction of body fat, while maintaining lean body mass within 1.5 percent of starting levels.
Source: Mayo Clinic