You might still be too fat. “The definition of obesity is having excess fat,” says Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and senior author of a study on what researchers are calling “normal weight obesity.” It was presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual science session. Researchers examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and found that among 2,127 men and women of normal weight and BMIs between 18.5 and 24.9, almost half had excess fat — 20 percent of total body composition for men and 30 percent for women. Although acceptable levels of body fat vary, most experts agree these numbers are high. Compared with those without excess fat, they also were 2 1/2times more likely to have metabolic syndrome. “If people do have high body fat, it means that they might have similar cardiovascular risks as obese patients,” Lopez-Jimenez said.
Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times
