Trial Rank and Slim - but suddenly heart disease

Being thin alone does not protect against diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Obesity can promote diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This fact is well known to many people. But a recent German study shows that even about 20 percent of people with normal body weight or body mass index (BMI) have an above-average risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The reason for the increased risk is a metabolic disorder that abnormally distributes fat when deposited in the body. But there are also medical recommendations on how to combat this syndrome.

The risk group is people with the so-called metabolic syndrome. Signs of this syndrome may be abnormal abdominal fat deposits, high blood pressure, lipid metabolism disorders and insulin resistance. Often hormones and the immune system can be disturbed and sufferers tend to increased appetite by a disorder in the saturation regulation. A team of researchers at the University Hospital Tübingen and the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have recently found in their study that sufferers who show two or more signs of the metabolic syndrome are at higher risk, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases to develop.

Lean people may be at increased risk for the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease if they have two or more symptoms of the metabolic syndrome. (Image: master1305 / fotolia.com)

20 percent of the slender suffer from metabolic disorders

"Altogether one speaks of scarcely 20 per cent of the slender humans with a damaged metabolism", explain the cardiologist and sport physician Werner Brunhuber of the national hospital Steyr in a press release to the study results. Striking is especially the abnormal fat distribution in those affected in the abdomen and in the liver. In addition, many people with metabolic disorders may find that the level of protective cholesterol HDL is too low, causing the body to need more insulin to maintain a normal blood sugar level. However, a higher intake of sugar quickly results in abnormal blood glucose levels.

Slim is healthy - this rule of thumb is not always valid

The study looked at body fat, fat distribution and fat content in the liver. Also the different contexts concerning insulin, blood vessels and physical fitness with the metabolic syndrome were considered. All in all, it turned out that "slim is healthy - this rule of thumb is not always valid", comments Brunhuber.

Movement can protect

"People who have two or more characteristics of a metabolic syndrome should be carefully examined for possible metabolic disorders," the expert recommends. It is also important to develop accurate yet simple diagnostic tests in order to be able to offer tailor-made measures in the sense of personalized therapies. In the opinion of the physician, a lot of physical activity can help those affected, since this can break down the abnormally distributed fat deposits and build up muscles. (Vb)