According to the results of a scientific study published in the Journal of Public Health, there are 6 major obesity subgroups. Much more heterogeneous than it seems, theobesity should therefore be treated individually according to the patient’s profile.
Scientists from the University of Sheffield (UK) and Harvard School of Public Health (USA) used data from 4,144 obese adults with an average age of 56, with an average body mass index of 34, a participant in the cohort called the Yorkshire Health Study. The sample comprised 58% women and 42% men. The researchers collected information related to the socio-demographic situation, lifestyle, diet, sports practice and history of weight loss attempts of the participants. Thanks to precise questionnaires, the team was able to establish 6 sub-categories of people with obesity, grouped according to their clinical characteristics.
The first group consisted of young women obese in good health, having not yet developed complications due to being overweight (diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, etc.). The second group included men who drank heavily, ingesting at least 12 units of alcohol per week. The third group was made up of a majority of women, with an anxious and depressive tendency, while the fourth group brought together middle-aged adults, in good health but with high blood pressure and increased alcohol consumption. Elderly obese adults with chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis made up the fifth group. Finally, the sixth group included vulnerable and deprived subjects who had developed several chronic diseases.
In view of the diversity of the profiles of the obese, the researchers emphasize the need to take this heterogeneity into account when setting up treatments. Because if for some obesity is due to too much alcohol consumption, it is induced by poor diet and/or a lack of sport in other individuals. One and the same therapeutic approach will therefore not be able to work for all obese profiles. It is therefore crucial to identify the subgroup of each patient in order to offer him the most appropriate therapeutic strategy.
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