45% of people with obesity have healthy blood pressure

Scientists have found that up to 45% of people with obesity have healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and lipid levels, which protects them from the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen and the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York, believe they have a new perspective on people with obesity, which could change the future of treatment.

Interestingly, they found that up to 45% of people with obesity are do not risk of contracting a dangerous disease.

Obesity tends to be accompanied by unhealthy levels of glucose and lipids, along with high blood pressure. This poses a huge risk for every obese individual of cardiovascular disease. The research team identified 62 sections of the genome that are linked to high levels of body fat and at the time, linked to protection against the negative health effects of obesity.

“We used a data-driven approach”

CBMR scientist Lam Opal Huang performed the computer analyzes that identified the genes. Lam said, “We used a data-driven approach in this study, which led us to find new genes associated with fatty tissue health, instead of the known obesity genes associated with the central nervous system, that control satiety and are generally linked to unhealthy obesity. . “

They found that genes had a range of functions in the body, such as regulating and developing fat cells, distributing body fat. They have also played a role in energy regulation and inflammation.

“ Obesity is a complex disease ”

Professor Ruth Loos of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai said: “Obesity is clearly a complex disease and not all overweight individuals are equally at risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. Knowing which genes protect people from diabetes and cardiovascular disease will help us better diagnose and treat obese people.

A new finding 45% of people with obesity are immune to this risk. The discovery could even break the link between higher levels of body fat and diabetes.

‘The development of new therapies’

Associate Professor Tuomas Kilpeläinen of the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Basic Metabolic Research Center (CBMR) at the University of Copenhagen, commented: “The genes identified appear to be beneficial to our health by helping to maintain healthy adipose tissue. Some of these genes may offer targets for the development of new therapies that reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease by improving the health of our fatty tissue.

Read the full study here.