Even if your weight is normal (BMI<25.0), you're still susceptible to heart disease, diabetes and other metabolic disorders if your body fat is too high.
According to a recent study lead by Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenz, a cardiologist with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., more than half (61%) of Americans are suffering from the so-called "normal weight obesity". Their body weights are within normal range (BMI<25.o), but their body fats are higher than 20% for men and 30% for women.
High body fat can affect heart and metabolic health including high cholesterol, high levels of leptin that regulates appetite and high rates of metabolic syndrome.
Normal weight is NOT equal to healthy weight.
Body weight or BMI is not a reliable gauge of obesity or health at the individual level. A muscular person may have high BMI, yet has low body fat and very healthy. On the contrary, a normal-weight person may have high body fat and is not healthy.
"Excess body fat in the belly is a menace, whatever your weight." said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.
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