Metabolic health in people with and without obesity

The increasing prevalence of obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges both nationally and globally. Living with obesity is often associated with metabolic disorders that increase the risk for cardiovascular diseases. More knowledge about people living with obesity who are metabolically healthy can help address the rising prevalence of obesity with more targeted measures.

Project period: 10.01.2022 – 09.01.2026

Obesity is closely linked to known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, high levels of triglycerides in the blood, low levels of HDL cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol), and high blood sugar. However, not everyone with obesity has these risk factors. They are considered "metabolically healthy,". They have reduced risk for cardiovascular disease compared to the "metabolically unhealthy," i.e., individuals with both obesity and high levels of risk factors. The aim of the project is to improve our understanding of the relationship between obesity and metabolic health using data from the Tromsø Study.

Specific aims:

To assess the occurrence of people that are metabolically healthy and unhealthy among participants with and without obesity
To compare metabolically healthy and unhealthy individuals according to lifestyle and dietary characteristics, and inflammatory markers
To assess if there is a change in metabolic health over time, and if so, which lifestyle characteristics and inflammatory markers are associated with it

Members

Sameline Grimsgaard (Principal investigator)
Monika Machlik
Marie Wasmuth Lundblad
Laila Arnesdatter Hopstock
Bjarne Koster Jacobsen