They argue that a large part of the population who has a normal weight also has a high fat percentage. Until now, obesity has been defined by the calculation of Body mass index (BMI) which takes into account the weight and height of a person. The study proposes another method.
Published in the newspaper Mayo Clinic women’s healthSource As of September, the study used a medical technique called bioimpedance. It comes down to passing a low-intensity current through the body’s tissues to determine their composition, including their fat mass.
The study focused on 2,127 people with a normal BMI, therefore considered to be non-obese. The researchers subjected them to the technique of bioimpedance. They noticed that those with the highest percentage of fat in relation to body weight also had the typical risks of people suffering from obesity. These participants, for example, had higher blood pressure, high levels of triglycerides and cholesterol, or insulin resistance. Like obese people, they are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Doctors concluded that a woman could be considered obese if her fat mass reached 30% of her weight. For a man, this proportion is 20%. They also insist that waist size is an important clue. For a woman, for example, if it exceeds 89 cm, the risk of diseases linked to obesity increases.
A previous study from May 2007 by British doctors showed that thin people may be at risk for cardiovascular disease as well. It was based on the fact that the fat deposited around vital organs can be a risk factor as well as the fat visible from the outside. Being thin does not exempt you from watching your diet and practicing regular physical activity to stay healthy.