Why Being Thin Doesn't Always Mean Being Healthy

But a new study hints that being lean doesn't get you entirely off the health hook either. In a genetic analysis involving more than 75,000 people, an international group of scientists led by Ruth Loos at the Medical Research Council in the U.K. found that lean people with a specific genetic variant were at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease despite their lower body fat.

The key, say the scientists, is to focus on not just the amount of fat, but the type of fat that you might have. A growing body of evidence shows that fat deposited just under the skin doesn't contribute that much to the development of metabolic disorders such as diabetes or heart problems. But fat accumulated in deeper tissues and organs, within muscle and embedded in organs like the liver, for example, can put you at greater risk of these diseases. And that goes for lean people too: they might not have much visible fat under the skin, but may be sequestering so-called visceral fat inside their body.



Read more: Heartland.Time.com

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Gene That Keeps You Thin May Raise Risk Of Heart Disease And Diabetes

As an aside, don't feel doomed if you possess this gene since 2/3 of the population is in the same situation. The truth that should be taken from this study is that being thin is not a recipe unto itself for health. This has been known for years without this research.

JAMA. 2005 Apr 20;293(15):1861-7.
Excess deaths associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity.
Flegal KM, Graubard BI, Williamson DF, Gail MH.
National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Md 20782, USA. kflegal@cdc.gov
RESULT.
Overweight was not associated with excess mortality (-86,094 deaths; 95% CI, -161,223 to -10,966). That is, Overweight individuals LIVED LONGER than normal weight persons!
Check for yourself on Pubmed. This study has been widely ignored by the medical establishment.

Incidentally the "low weight" individuals were not better off than the obese!

Dr. David Marcon
Work Smarter Not Harder!
Cincinnati, Ohio
www.drdavidmarcon.com