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QHHL 
Is obesity a disease? Do people with obesity who otherwise live in a healthy style really have to worry about it? Modern day medical professionals often label obesity as a disease, but in recent years, the growing levels of obesity in the United States coupled with anti-bullying campaigns in schools have resulted in a push to label obesity as “okay”. Some people feel that, if an obese person has no diseases present, that person should not be labeled as having a disease. Is this accurate information? Can obese people be healthy despite their weight? A new study suggests no, they can’t. This article will provide an overview of the research and other factors that relate to obesity and disease prevention.
What the study says
The study, conducted by researchers from the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham, UK, analyzed medical records from general practitioners across the UK over a 20 year period – 1995 to 2015. The records of 3.5 million people were reviewed, making this the largest study of its kind to date. Researchers looked for indicators in the records that identified people as being obese but otherwise metabolically healthy, including normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol, and absence of diabetes. They then tracked how many people, both with obesity and with normal weight, subsequently suffered one of four cardiac conditions, including coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and/or stroke, heart failure, and peripheral vascular disease. Researchers compared the rates of cardiac conditions in metabolically healthy people with obesity to metabolically healthy people of normal weight. The study was presented to the European Congress on Obesity in Porto, Portugal in May of 2017.
The results of the study showed that the people who were obese but metabolically healthy still had a significantly higher risk of developing cardiac conditions than metabolically healthy people of normal weight. The results included a 49% higher risk for developing coronary heart disease, a 7% higher risk for suffering cerebrovascular disease and/or stroke, and a 96% higher risk of developing heart failure. Researchers concluded that obesity continues to be a risk factor for cardiac conditions, even in people who are metabolically healthy.
Why measurements of obesity don’t give the whole health picture
Obesity is often measured by a person’s body mass index, or BMI. This index calculates a ratio of a person’s weight compared to height and provides a number based on that calculation. A BMI of 18.5 to 25 is currently considered normal weight, while a BMI of over 30 is considered obese. BMI is used as a measure of obesity because it is easy and convenient, not because it is accurate. Many other factors play into weight and why a person is overweight or obese. Repeated measures of weight and BMI reinforce the fact that obesity is present, but they don’t really help a person to address the problem and they often have a negative effect on body image. People who are obese but feel fine otherwise do not see the need for repeated health evaluation using BMI measurements and do not understand why they are labeled as having a disease when they are fine metabolically. The above study reinforces the reason why obesity is labeled as a disease or at least as a risk factor.
While admitting that obesity is a disease or risk factor is useful in combatting it, BMI and weight measures are not good indicators of the presence of other diseases that might result from obesity. A BMI measurement cannot tell a person if he or she has coronary artery disease or diabetes. Metabolic measures like blood glucose and cholesterol are more helpful in detecting these diseases, but these tests can only be done once or twice per year unless active disease is detected. Additionally, a healthy person cannot conduct metabolic tests themselves, but must visit a medical professional to have them done.
What a person with obesity can do to measure health
So, what can a person with obesity do to monitor health at home other than track weight? While it is not practical to go in for repeated blood tests when no active disease is present, people can track other health indicators at home. Blood pressure and heart rate variation are two indicators that are more sensitive to changes in the body’s processes than BMI or weight. These indicators, when tracked over time, can give a person an early warning to the presence of cardiac disease. Self-assessment of these indicators at home can provide a running record that can detect changes in health early, making disease prevention possible.
HomeLab by Quantihealth provides the equipment and health evaluation tools that allow a person to track blood pressure, heart rate variation, and several other health indicators at home. Online health measurement allows a person to detect changes in these health indicators and to send the information to a doctor, making early detection of disease possible. Whether or not a person has obesity, monitoring health at home to allow for early detection of disease makes sense. For more information on HomeLab by Quantihealth, visit www.thequantihealth.com.
