With obesity affecting over a third of the population of the United States, the question of whether there is such a thing as healthy obesity is more important than ever. New research investigates whether people with obesity are still at increased risk of other diseases.

Share on Pinterest Having obesity comes with a wide range of metabolic and cardiovascular risks, major study shows.

Obesity affects approximately 1 in 3 U.S. individuals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define obesity as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher.

In 2013, the American Medical Association deemed obesity a disease. The rationale behind this was to raise awareness around the metabolic complications that often accompany obesity, as well as around the increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

However, some studies have suggested that there are obese people who are perfectly healthy, and who should therefore not be clinically categorized as “diseased.”

New, large-scale research, however, challenges this belief, suggesting that the “healthy obese” person is nothing but a myth.

The new study – which is the largest to have ever investigated this matter – was carried out by researchers from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, and the findings were presented at the European Congress on Obesity, held in Porto, Portugal.