Abstract 44: Cardiometabolic Responses to Weight Change are Different between Obese and Normal Weight Adults Who are Metabolically Healthy: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Introduction: The 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Guideline for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults recommended weight loss for obese adults in order to reduce their cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, not all obese adults develop CVD and approximately 17% of obese Americans in the 1999-2004 NHANES were metabolically healthy. The absence of abnormal CVD risk factors in this subgroup of obese adults indicates that some individuals are resistant to excess adiposity and positive energy balance, and raises the question of whether all obese adults should be recommended for weight loss treatment. We know of no study that has examined whether metabolically healthy obese (MHO) adults respond to weight changes the same way as metabolically healthy normal weight adults (MHNW). Also, no study has compared the effects of weight loss, weight maintenance and weight gain on CVD risk factors in MHO adults. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the effects of weight change would be different in MHNW and MHO adults, wit...