A new study analyzing pairs of identical twins, in which one is obese while the other is a healthy weight, has discovered that "metabolically healthy obesity" in some individuals is linked to lack of adipose tissue inflammation and high mitochondrial function.
Metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) is defined as an individual with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, but who does not seem to be at increased risk of the health complications usually associated with excess weight, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
According to the researchers from the Obesity Research Unit at the University of Helsinki in Finland, the reasons as to why some people maintain MHO has been unclear.
For their study, published in the journal Diabetologia, the research team studied 16 pairs of identical twins aged between 23 and 36-years-old. One of each pair of twins was of a normal weight, while the other was obese.
The researchers examined the body composition of all twins. This included measurements of:
- Weight
- Height
- Abdominal subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat, and
- Liver fat.
Blood tests and oral glucose tolerance tests were performed on the participants after they had fasted overnight for 12 hours, in order to determine how quickly glucose cleared from the blood.
The participants were measured for lipids present in their blood and certain markers of inflammation, such as apidokines and C-reactive proteins (CRP). The function of the mitochondria and inflammation in the subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) was also analyzed.
MHO linked to inflammation and mitochondrial function
In all 16 pairs of twins, the average weight differences between the obese twin and the twin of normal weight was 17 kg.
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